volume 9 issue 2

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JANUARY 19TH - JANUARY 26TH, 2013 VOLUME 9 - No. 2

NO VAT DELAY

By Vivian Tyson

The British Government has rejected calls to delay Value Added Tax (VAT) in the Turks and Caicos Islands, meaning that the controversial tax will be introduced in just over two months, on April 1st, 2013.

Mark Simmonds, Minister in charge of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in a letter to Premier Dr. Rufus Ewing stated that after reviewing the various revenue strategies proposed

by Ewing’s Progressive National Party (PNP) Government, he remained satisfied that VAT was TCI’s best bet for a steady revenue stream.

The letter stated: “I think you have a choice between pressing ahead with the introduction of VAT from 1 April or making a clear commitment to introducing a credible alternative to VAT such as property or income tax. I should be clear that I believe that, at this stage, the best option for the Turks and Caicos Islands is to press ahead with the implementation of VAT. Tinkering with the

current disparate and unsatisfactory mix of taxes would not address the underlying weaknesses and unfairness of these and would not offer a credible alternative to VAT. I have reflected on your proposal for a delay in the implementation of VAT. I judge that this would present significant risks. A delay at this stage would risk undermining the credibility of the Government’s commitment to

Opposition Leader Sharlene Hon. Cartwright-Robinson (second right) and Minister of Finance Hon. Washington Misick (left) share a light moment while Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing (second left) and Deputy Opposition Leader Sean Astwood look on in amusement. Occasion was a joint press conference called by both sides of the political divide at the LIME Corporate Office on Thursday, January 17, to signal their unity against the impending imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT). VAT is to come on stream in the Turks and Caicos Islands come April 1. Prior to the staging of the news conference, the two political entities met with the Chamber of Commerce to notify them of their plan and to seek their support.

UNITED AGAINST VAT

SPICE Unit will be back

– Page 5

Wilkie Arthur wins appeal and is freed from jail –

Page 5

Michael Misick family responds to

AG- Page 7

Deputy Governor

Anya Williams speaks out –

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Continued on PG2

JANUARY 19TH - JANUARY 26TH, 2013 TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWSLOCAL NEWS

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The Young Enterprise which mouldsyoung minds with the skills tobecome future business leaders waslaunched on Saturday, December 15,at the Gustarvus LightbourneSports Complex in Providencialeswith much fanfare.

Among the attendees at the eventwere His Excellency Governor RicTodd and Deputy Premier Hon.Akierra Misick, who is also Ministerof Education, Youth and Sports.

Eight companies comprising 92students from high schools across theTurks and Caicos Islands and theEdward Gartland Youth Centre onProvo are taking part in theprogramme.

Youth Director Angela Musgrove,told The SUN that in addition tohoning their entrepreneurial skills, theparticipants in the programme will alsodevelop their employability talent, aswell as their personal development.

She explained that under theYoung Enterprise Programme,participating groups have beenresponsible to set up their ownbusiness that would last for 12 months.They are also responsible for, amongother things, selling shares, runningboard meetings, developing a product,a business plan and an advertisingscheme.

Musgrove was heartened by the

number of persons in the businesscommunity who have been committedto the programme and have beenworking closely with the respectivegroups to ensure their success.

“We have quite a number ofbusiness persons from the communitywho have come on board as businessadvisors and the teachers within theschools who work with the teachers aslink teachers, to give the students thesupport to run their businesses. Thegroups meet on a weekly basis to dotheir admin. And, they have their settimes when they would have engaged

in sales in their various community.“Scotiabank is our premier

sponsor because they donated $30,000for the set-up and running of the YoungEnterprise Programme. And they alsohave a number of advisors fromScotiabank who work with the variousgroups.

The programme was put togetherby the Providenciales Chamber ofCommerce in conjunction with theDepartment of Youth Affairs. She saidalso that a number of entities,including the Governor’s Office, werecontacted to become partners.

“They (Governor’s Office) werevery supportive in seeing the YoungEnterprise Business set up. Theyassisted us in arranging for theFinancial Services Commission andthe Attorney General’s Chambers toget the right legal form for the YoungEnterprise, because each of thebusinesses has to be set up as legalentities in the Turks and CaicosIslands.

“So in order to assist us in gettingexempt from some of those fees,because we are a youth empowermentcompany, we had the support of theGovernor’s Office, the FinancialServices Commission and the AttorneyGeneral Chambers on that,” Musgrovesaid.

Wendy Hill, Treasurer and BoardMember of the Chamber ofCommerce, said that the Chamber wasapproached by the YK Enterprise inLondon to introduce the programmehere, and since the entity was aboutbusiness and entrepreneurship, it wasonly too happy to introduce it here.

“We then approached AngelaMusgrove of the Youth Department,and we were all excited to get thislaunched. And based on what I haveseen, we are very excited that theprogramme will do well here. It is wellattended and students said that theyhave started to learn a little bit aboutbusiness skills and how to do teamwork,” Hill said.

The Young Enterprise Programmewill now be billed as an annual event.In June after one of the businesses isdeclared the winner, there will bedissolution of all existing enterprisesfor the creation of new businesses andcompetition in September.

As of next year, the winningbusiness will get the opportunity toparticipate in the International YouthEnterprise Business competition,slated for the UK.

Nine groups are taking part in thecompetition. They are Unique IslandNational Treats and FrocCo Treat Barfrom H.J. Robinson High Schools;Elite and Pros Cooperation and BrightSparks Enterprise from the RaymondGardiner High School; Island HeatherIncorporated and Premium Qualityfrom the Clement Howell HighSchool; Zion Enterprise fromChampions of Christ and Pyro fromthe Edward Gartland Youth Centre.

Young Enterprise dazzles patronsBY VIVIAN TYSON

SUN SENIOR EDITOR

The Pyro group makes a presentation to Governor Ric Todd

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VAT particularly with those businesses that have invested in preparation.”

The letter, which was endorsed by Alan Duncan, Minister of State for the Department for International Development (DFID), added: “I will be disappointed if you decided to give only tacit support to implementation of VAT while continuing to blame the interim administration for committing TCI to this policy.”

Despite strong opposition from both major political parties – Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) the Progressive National Party (PNP) and business community, including the Clive Stanbrook-led Turks and Caicos Islands Independent Business Council the UK-assigned former Interim Administration put Value Added Tax into law during the summer of last year (2012), for it to take effect on April 1st, the start of the 2013/2014 fiscal year. The reason given for the tax’s implementation was that it would ensure a steady revenue stream for government so that it would be better able to pay its bills.

Upon assuming office after the December 9, 2012 general election, the Rufus Ewing government penned a letter to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister, Mark Simmonds to initially request of him to delay VAT for a year while his government seek to devise ways to come up with an alternative revenue scheme.

However, on November 19th, last year, Simmonds told the House of Commons that any delay in the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the Turks and Caicos Islands would require a change in legislation and the Governor Ric Todd will have the final say.

Simmonds, who was asked then if he will allow the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands to delay the introduction of VAT if it wishes to do so, replied: "The Interim Government in Turks and Caicos Islands decided to introduce VAT. Consequently the VAT Bill was signed into law on 18 July 2012 and will come into force on 1 April 2013. Any delay would require a change in legislation. Before giving assent to such legislation, the Governor would need to consider if it was consistent with the Constitution and the Statement of Governance Principles in force. This requires the new Turks and Caicos Islands Government to formulate and conduct macro-economic and fiscal policy for the sustained long-term prosperity of the people of the islands, and to manage public funds according to established principles of value for money, affordability and regularity and in the interests of long-term financial stability."

While on a visit to the TCI in late November last year, Simmonds said, during a joint news conference with Premier Ewing, that he was not convinced that the local government could come

up with a credible VAT alternative by that time frame. He further stated that such a time was too long to not have a steady stream of revenue mechanism in place.

The rejection came as an obvious disappointment not only for the government but also the opposition and the business section, who all agreed that Britain was exercising an alarming level of high-handedness in their approach to the tax debate.

An obviously incensed Ewing has threatened to repeal VAT in the House of Assembly with the help of what can now be described as a willing Opposition. But such a move could prove only symbolic to their objection, as the governor could veto the repeal bill with the added reserve powers that that new Constitution has afforded him. And given the direction that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has taken, it is highly likely that Governor Ric Todd reject the repeal if the parliamentarians make such attempts.

For his part, Washington Misick, the Minister for Finance said that while the British had not given any evidence to satisfy their claim that VAT would generate $10 million to the economy in the next financial year; the PNP administration has put forward evidence of revenue generation in excess of $15 million using the proposed alternative means.

Misick told the media gathering that while the UK government had declared that VAT would yield approximately $10 million, his government’s alternative revenue scheme so far has promised more than $15 million.

“It is assumed that they would raise $10 million extra. Not all of the work has been completed on our projections, and we are showing between $15 million and $16 million of extra revenue. They’ve asked us to provide an evidenced-based alternative. Well, I have seen no evidence (that Value Added Tax is in our best interest.

“If there is genuine interest in respect for an elected government, they would look to be sitting around a table and negotiate like they negotiate with any other group of people in their own country or in other nations,” Misick argued.

The latest VAT episode has created an otherwise unlikely coalescing of both the government and opposition, who both agreed to speak on the issue with one voice.

On Thursday, the two parties jointly met with the members of the Chamber of Commerce at the LIME Corporate Office in Providenciales to update them on the current situation, while announcing their intention going forward, while at the same time seeking their support.

Some chamber members declared that they would not sign up for VAT and were prepared to

be prosecuted if it came necessary. They declared that there was no principle on the part of the British, especially in consideration to the government’s proposal of an alternative.

Stanley Williams, Manager of Hertz Rent-a-car declared: “As it relates to the VAT, all the politicians should put the British Government on notice that we will engage in civil disobedience. We do not want VAT. We will not register. We will not pay any VAT. And you have to show them that you are serious about it, because that is the only language that they understand. We now have a democratically-elected government, and it is not fair for the British Government to continue to its will on the people. That should be the prerogative of the elected politicians. Parliament is the governing body of any country.

“When the Interim Government took over from the former administration, everything that they didn’t like they changed; that’s what governments do. So it is not fair for them now to continue to run the Turks and Caicos Islands as if they are still in charge, and you have a new political party that is now in charge.”

Both the Progressive National Party (PNP) and the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) have expressed their opposition to VAT.

Even if the two parties were to join forces in the House of Assembly and seek to repeal the VAT Bill, the Governor still has reserve powers under the Constitution that can over-ride that decision.

Section 72 of the Constitution states:(1) If the Governor considers that the enactment

of legislation is necessary or desirable-(a) for the purpose of securing compliance with

an international obligation;(b) to ensure compliance with the Statement of

Governance Principles for the time being in effect;(c) to ensure that sufficient funds have

been appropriated, within four months of the commencement of each financial year, for the effective operation of committees of the House of Assembly, the courts, the Attorney General's Chambers, and each institution protecting good governance; or

(d) to give effect, with or without modifications, to the recommendations contained in a report of an Electoral District Boundary Commission, but, after consultation with the Premier, it appears to the Governor that the Cabinet is unwilling to support the introduction into the House of Assembly of a bill for the purpose or that the House is unlikely to pass a bill introduced into it for the purpose, the Governor may, with the prior approval of a Secretary of State, cause a bill for the purpose to be published in the Gazette and may (notwithstanding that the bill has not been passed by the House) assent to it on behalf of Her Majesty; but the bill shall be so published for at least 21 days prior to assent unless the Governor certifies by writing under his or her hand that the matter is too urgent to permit such delay in the giving of assent and so informs a Secretary of State.

(2) If any member of the Cabinet so desires, he or she may, within 30 days of the publication of a bill under subsection (1), submit to the Governor a statement in writing of his or her comments on such publication, and the Governor shall forward such statement, or a copy of it, as soon as practicable to a Secretary of State."

NO VAT DELAYContinued from PG 1

JANUARY 19TH - JANUARY 26TH, 2013TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWSARE WE OPERATING A GOVERNMENT

WITHIN A GOVERNMENT?

COMMENTARYPage 6

TURKS AND CAICOS SUN MARCH 16TH - MARCH 23RD, 2012

Turks and Caicos SunSuite # 5, Airport Plaza

Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands

Tel: (649) 946-8542/ (649) 241-1510Fax: (649) 941-3281Email: [email protected]

Read us online at www.suntci.com

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden BoyceSenior Editor: Vivian TysonWeb Designer: Patrina Moore-PierreGraphics Editor: Joleen GrantOffice Manager: Dominique RigbyDistribution Manger: Kelano HowellAdvertising and Marketing Manager-Patrina Moore-Pierre

The Turks and Caicos SUN is a subsidiaryof The SUN Media Group Ltd.

We are committed to excellence in journalism,educating and informing our readers, servingand satisfying our advertisers and assisting in

the overall development of the Turks andCaicos Islands.

ROYAL ROBINSONCONTRIBUTER

EDITORIAL CARTOON

I have been mulling these thoughts for some time now and must conclude that with the way things are panning out, that clearly is happening. It is said that in many investigation that you must follow the money if you want to know how things happened. So let us do a bit of that today.

We know that the British were forced into calling elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We also know that they have set in motion a number of minefields to destroy an elected government. The firs minefield is the loan guarantee for this $260M. There has not been to date a comprehensive explanation as to how the money was spent. A comprehensive, and not cosmetic audit of the Interim Administration’s time at full control must be undertaken. There is no way that a debt of $75M can balloon into $200M and all of the previous debts not being paid.

Something has to be wrong with the numbers. Part of what is wrong came to the surface in recent times when the governor instructed the Treasury to cut a cheque for $500,000.00 without going through the procurement process that they have set up to procure computer equipment and software to facilitate the implementation of VAT. Had a locally elected member, in the person of the Minister of Finance were to issue such instructions, you would never cease to hear how corrupt, willing to bend and break the rules that Minister would be called. He would be vilified and his name dragged through the mud as a thief of the people’s money. But Governor Todd can disregard the rules and that is kosher. Hell no. if a Minister, who has to go out and burst his but to ensure that revenue is there for us so that the various things that are required for the full functioning of government cannot do so without penalty, why should Todd be able to get away with it. Is it not that he is responsible for good governance? So this harkens back to what happened, as alleged under previous political administrations for which they were castigated. They have set the fox to guard the hen house and he is eating the eggs and the chickens!

Elections were called and the results are in. Let it be as a given that the Interim Administration did not know what the makeup of Cabinet was going to be. However, it must have been clear that once Ministers were appointed that there would be the requirement to fund their offices so that the efficient work of government can take place. A sum of money was set aside to allow for that to happen.

Now that Ministers are in place, would it not make sense to have that tranche of money redistributed so that Ministers could go about the business of satisfying their agenda and mandate that they campaigned on? But no, the Deputy Governor is doing all she can to frustrate the smooth running of government by hiding behind some rule, she says, that has been set in motion by the Integrity Commission. That is one bunch of hogwash and she knows better. But it seems as if the British has chosen

well someone who would to their line and carry out their agenda! She has now left the country to attend at the UK to get “further and better particulars” I suppose.

The next issue has to do with development and inward investment. We know that prior to and subsequent to 1976 that no civil servant has driven the development agenda for this country. Every stick of meaningful development has come at the behest of an elected government, through its Ministers of Trade, Development and Tourism. Now I see that the Deputy A/G is writing a potential investor that the Premier of this country has nothing to do with the development of this country. I was totally surprise by that position that she has taken. I feel that it lacked tack and had an air of disrespect to the office of Premier of this country. I never knew that the day would come when civil servants, who never went to the polls, putting themselves on the dotted line, making no manifestation as to what they would do for this country, would have the temerity to publicly chastise Ministers for doing what they were elected to do. If they wanted to be responsible for policy direction, then they should go and face the music of the electorate!

The Premier is being too nice with them. They should have been told long ago where “to jump off”! Is this the type of governing principles of which the governor and the Overseas Minister so eloquently spoke about? That certainly cannot be the case, I dare say.

My penultimate piece of the puzzle has to do with this loan guarantee and the rate at which money has to be transferred into the sinking fund. This is nothing more than the blatant rape, pillage and plunder of our Treasury, by DFID, aided and abetted by Todd and Groves. We cannot allow

COMMENTARYPage 6

TURKS AND CAICOS SUN MARCH 16TH - MARCH 23RD, 2012

Turks and Caicos SunSuite # 5, Airport Plaza

Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands

Tel: (649) 946-8542/ (649) 241-1510Fax: (649) 941-3281Email: [email protected]

Read us online at www.suntci.com

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden BoyceSenior Editor: Vivian TysonWeb Designer: Patrina Moore-PierreGraphics Editor: Joleen GrantOffice Manager: Dominique RigbyDistribution Manger: Kelano HowellAdvertising and Marketing Manager-Patrina Moore-Pierre

The Turks and Caicos SUN is a subsidiaryof The SUN Media Group Ltd.

We are committed to excellence in journalism,educating and informing our readers, servingand satisfying our advertisers and assisting in

the overall development of the Turks andCaicos Islands.

ROYAL ROBINSONCONTRIBUTER

EDITORIAL CARTOON

EDITORIALCartoon

this to continue. Nowhere in the world ahs money been lent to an individual, much less a government that had such an onerous repayment plan. The loan sharks of Providenciales could now say how much of a good guy they are in comparison to what obtains with this loan guarantee.

The last issue that I want to raise is with respect to the provision of evidence-based information for the alternative to VAT. I have yet to see one iota of data to support the supposition of Mr. Hugh Groves. He has hidden behind some mumble jumble about the information is proprietary so he can get away with that, saddle us with a nonsense of a tax system that the UK itself is reviewing. But we must hold the bag. The Premier and Minister of Finance have done a yeoman like task of coming up with sensible alternatives. But Minister Simmons and Governor Todd think that they know what is best for us. Todd only knew about us for little over a year when he was surprised to be given the opportunity to be our governor and Simmons just recently, when he took over from Bellingham!

They expect us to put our faith in them when they have hidden the numbers and massaged their data to say what they want. That day is coming to an end. Those disrespectful civil servants would have their day in court too. I hope that haven given, they can take!


LOCAL NEWSMICHAEL MISICK’S FAMILY RESPONDS TO ATTORNEY

GENERAL HUW SHEPHEARD AND REPEAT CALLS FOR HIS RELEASE FROM BRAZILIAN PRISON

From The Michael Misick Family

The Attorney General (AG) released a press statement as a result of a press release made by us the family of Michael Misick regarding the lack of communications coming from the government on the issue of Michael Misick arrest and detention in Brazil.

Sadly, the statement follows the official script and is almost word for word taken from a letter that Governor Ric Todd had sent in response to questions and concerns raised by Michael Misick family after he was arrested.

The AG claimed that the extradition request was made lawfully and properly but there is evidence to suggest the contrary. In fact, the AG supported by an affidavit sworn by SIPT’s Tony Nobel got Magistrate Warner to issue an arrest warrant on the 2nd of February 2012.

With the warrant attached the AG on or about the 1st of August 2012 sent a letter to the Brazilian authorities requesting the temporary arrest of Michael Misick for extradition this extradition request was supported by another of Tony Nobel’s affidavits. Needless to say, both the AG requesting correspondence and the affidavit of Tony Nobel was riddled with, half truths and innuendoes. It was shocking to discover that both the AG and SIPT’s Tony Nobel represented to the Brazilians courts that Michael Misick escaped lawful custody after he was charged with offences of Conspiracy to received bribes and with conspiracy to defraud.

The problem with the AG and SIPT story is that Michael Misick was never charged with anything before his departure from the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and by the time they got around to securing the warrant from Magistrate Warner in February 2012, Michael Misick was long gone from the TCI.

Michael Misick lived in the Dominican Republic for the most part

since he resigned as Premier of the TCI and from there he travel to Brazil where he filed for political asylum on 8th November 2011 and on the 24th November 2011 he received temporary residence status which allowed him to live in Brazil without any restriction of rights.

He was given interim status on the 12 December 2011 valid to February 28, 2012 this was later extended again to 14th of June 2012. On or about 1 June 2012, CONARE, the Brazilian authority responsible for granting refugee status denied his request and he had 15 days to appeal which he did to the Minister of State for Justice while waiting for trial of the appeal. He was granted new temporary residence status which was valid until April 7th 2013.

Michael’s Brazilian lawyers explained that pursuant to Article 34 of Law 9474/97 the fact that he was waiting Judgment on his asylum appeal and that he was granted temporary residence status, under normal circumstances should act as a stay on the initiation of any extradition proceedings.

He further explained that the allegation the UK lodged against Michael was not sufficient to warrant the Brazilian authorities agreeing to temporary custody, particularly when the same Brazilian authorities were the ones determining his asylum appeal. The lawyer also said that Brazilian Law 12.403/2011 provides for pre-cautionary measures other than detention to be taken. He suggests that possible other measures to detention were provided for in art 319 of the CPP.

The AG in his press release also said that the request was made lawfully and properly pursuant to the relevant treaty between the UK and Brazil as extended to the TCI.

Upon further research it was discovered that Tony Nobel’s affidavit in support of the AG request for

extradition was sworned on about the 1st of August 2012. It is reasonable to assume that the AG’s request was to the Brazilian was made around the same time. The problem the AG has with that statement is that the time the initial request was made, the extradition between Brazil and the UK was not yet extended to the TCI.

Our research revealed that this treaty was not extended to the TCI until the 26th of September 2012. We also discovered that on the very same day 26th September 2012 the AG resubmitted his request for extradition to the Brazilian authorities. One can only conclude as with other laws; the extension of the treaty in retrospect can be seen as being enacted specifically to secure a Brazilian court’s warrant for the temporary arrest and extradition of Michael Misick.

The AG said that after the UK formally request the extradition of Michael Misick then he can consider whether he wish to return home voluntarily. This is another fallacy of the AG.

Michael Misick is being detained by the Brazilian at the pleasure of the AG.

Mr. AG Michael Misick has indicated to all who would listen, that he wish to be brought home now. It is folly for you to say that the extradition application must be completed before you can make arrangement for him to return home without delay.

If the AG was serious about bring Michael Misick home as quickly as possible all he would have to do is rescind the warrants he caused to be put in place so that Michael can be released by the Brazilians to the custody of his lawyers and SIPT officers, so that he can board a pre-arranged direct flight to the TCI.

It must be understood that the Brazilians are holding Michael in

their prison because of our AG’s request. The AG has the power to have Michael Misick brought home within 24 to 36 hours if he chooses to do so. There can be no legitimate arguments of security concerns with lifting the warrants. Michael Misick can be put on a direct flight from Brazil, stopping only to refuel in the BVI a British Overseas Territory. We don’t see any security risks in this scenario. This is a decision for the AG and he must man-up and bring Michael Misick home without delay.

The Brazilian Federal police in their press release said that Michael Misick looked surprised when he was arrested. Anyone can understand his surprise, when the same people who were trusted to protect him from political victimization by the British suddenly turned on him.

It would appear that the whole circumstances surrounding Michael Misick and his detention were set up by the British Consulate in Rio de Janeiro assisted by Tony Nobel and others from SIPT. In fact Tony Nobel and two other SIPT officers accompanied the Brazilian federal police to the Santos Dumond Airport on the 7 December 2012 to affect the arrest on Michael Misick. These seem SIPT officers are known to still be moonlighting around Rio de Janeiro at the Turks and Caicos Islands taxpayers’ expense.

The AG made mentioned that Michael Misick would be tried under our laws. We trust he is referring to the criminal regime that existed in the TCI at the time these alleged crimes were said to have taken place. It would be shameful for Michael Misick to have gone through what he has and still not be given an opportunity to a fair trial by jury of his peers.


LOCAL NEWSWork permit not to be used as revenue measure

By Vivian Tyson

Had governments of the previous past not turn to work permit fees as a key source of revenue, the issue of Turks and Caicos Islanders saying they cannot find work would not be a topical issue. This is the view of Deputy Opposition Leader, Hon. Sean Astwood.

Speaking at a news conference called by the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) at its Headquarters in Providenciales on Wednesday, January 16, to address a myriad of issues, including jobs, Astwood said that a lot more Turks and Caicos Islanders needed to be employed than that of the current level.

He blamed the cry for a lack of jobs by locals on policies put in place by post PDM era administrations, where work permit fees became a critical element to the recurrent budget.

“Unfortunately the government of the past had turned to work permit as a source of revenue rather than a means of regulating the (job) industry. We need to move away from that. That is just as bad as when the country was selling land to pay bills. It is just a bad policy and it is ending up now hurting our people,” the deputy opposition leader said.

He noted also that on a number of occasions, some businesses were allowed to circumvent the system by manipulating the Labour Department, but he said that once a clear policy is put in place, such the oft stage-management by some companies could come to an end.

“You may find companies being able to go

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into the Labour Department and spinning a good story, and if the department isn’t up to scratch to make sure that they understand what’s going on; understand the requirement of the industry, and have clear policies on what is expected from these companies; what does a worker need in order to be qualified, then you are going to have the lapse where people are turned away or work permits are renewed for longer than they are initially intended,” Astwood argued.

He told the news conference that the landscape of the issuing of work permits has changed over the

years, pointing to the argument that such measure was intended to be, for the most part, short term, where expatriates come in on contract and leave the country when the contracts have run their courses.

The concept of work permit has changed over the years. Work permit was supposed to be a short term employment scenario; people come here for a year or two to do a particular contract, but we have seen where work permit has gone past 10 years. Obviously, something is seriously wrong with that. Again, it is simply a matter of fixing the system.

Responding to the question of what revenue replacement measure a PDM administration would implement in the event it abandons or drastically scale down the issuing the multimillion dollar revenue generator, Astwood emphasized that his government would look at the needs of the people over what the budget should look like.

“First, when we are looking at the labour situation, we wouldn’t start by what the budget says; we would start by looking at the needs of our people. A labour policy must start with what is required, where our job complements are; how many people that we have that are unemployed; what companies need; what kind of qualification; how many staff.

“And that’s where you start; you must form your policy around that. The end result, how much money you make is what it is, the end result. But you cannot start by saying you need $11 million dollars,

‘I am going to start giving out work permits’; it’s just the wrong concept,” Astwood argued.

PDM Deputy Leader Sean Astwood


LOCAL NEWSOpposition says Gov’t sluggish on job creation

By Vivian Tyson

Opposition leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson believes that government was not doing enough to tackle the issues of jobs and healthcare among the local populace after two months of coming to office.

At a news conference called on Wednesday, January 16 at the PDM Headquarters, downtown Providenciales, to discuss a number of pressing issues, including Value Added Tax, Cartwright-Robinson accused the government of being lethargic in its pursuit to tackling especially the two issues.

At a town hall style-meeting held at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex in Providenciales on Tuesday, January 16, Minister for Border Control and Labour, Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner, asked the attendees to bear with his administration while it established frameworks to deal the labour issues in the country, pointing out that his administration only came into office just two months and was working to put things in place.

However, Hon. Cartwright-Robinson believed that two months was more than enough time for the government to settle and begin to tackle some of the country’s urgent issues, especially health are and labour.

“Two months and people are still unemployed. I am not expecting you to have ten thousand jobs. But I am expecting that you make an effort for an employment drive to step up support in the labour department to do something and say something to us. Maybe they are doing it, I don’t know. There has to be a real impact on the ground. Because, despite you being in government for two months, work permits were still continuing to be renewed and our people are still going to sleep hungry.

“Our people are still jobless; I am sorry, there are certain things that are just priority. If you recall, even during the interviews on WIV, we were asked: what’s your government’s priority?

And Jobs was like number one, and healthcare for us was number two, and we understand why the party opposite wasn’t too interested in our priority list,” the opposition leader noted.

Cartwright-Robinson maintained that two months was not an excuse for the government to not begin to make in-roads in job creation and health care. In that regard, she urged the administration to get on the ball and begin to make efforts to improve the lives of Turks and Caicos Islanders through job creation.

“Health is too vital to say that we have only been here two months; jobs and unemployment is too vital to say that you have only been there two months. Now, I agree with you and that give us an opportunity to look at what you are looking, and give us some time to work together; now two months are too short for that, but nothing else. At least we have to see real steps; real steps towards getting people back to work,” she said.


LOCAL NEWS

Premier Ewing still without Provo officeBy Vivian Tyson

After two months in government Premier for the Turks and Caicos Islands, Dr. Rufus Ewing could finally get an office from which to conduct the nation’s business as there are signs that Hilly A. Ewing Building on Leeward Highway could probably become available by the end of this month or early February.

The Hilly A. Ewing Building, which has been officially assigned as the Premier’s Office during the former Mike Misick and Galmo Williams’ administrations respectively, is currently occupied by the United Kingdom-assigned criminal probing body – the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT).

Other ministers also used that building to conduct businesses under the two Progressive National Party (PNP) administrations as well.

When Premier Ewing announced in December that he was not assigned

an office in Providenciales and was asked by the news media as to when he would get one, he could not say. He told the news conference that as a result of such anomaly he and his ministers had to improvise by using

availing office spaces that became accessible in some government offices.

At the time, Minister for Government Support Services, George Lightbourne, said that SIPT was seeking a number of options and would vacate the building as soon as its members could find a suitable location.

But updating a town hall-style meeting on Tuesday, January 15, Lightbourne said that the situation remained the same, as the SIPT was still the occupant, but indicated that alternative locations were being scouted by that by, and as soon as a suitable one was found, it would depart the building.

“The SIPT has agreed to relocate, and they are looking at, I believe, one or two other locations and we are waiting their approval for those alternative locations. There are some security issues, and once those locations meet their concerns, then we (government) should be set up in Provo in short order, maybe another week or two.

“The there is a demand for Ministers’ presence in Provo, and we have all committed to spending, I believe, about two to three days in Provo. Provo is the financial capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and it is very important that we be here to meet with you and engage you and to address your concerns,” Lightbourne said.

The lack of an official office for the head of the government has caused some level of consternation among the populace and even with the PNP administration. At news conference on Tuesday at the Tourist Board office in Providenciales, Minister for Finance Hon. Washington Misick stated that the protracted wait for the Premier to get into an office was a clear sign that the British was not ready to give the TCI people an election, but did so because they were forced by international pressure.

He intimated that the government could be more efficient if the premier had an office on that island, as he would be better able to address the needs of the people there.

Minister for Government Support Services, George Lightbourne addressing the town hall-style meeting


LOCAL NEWSPDM believes TCI should stick with current

revenue mechanismBy Vivian Tyson

The opposition Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) said it would not create an alternative to the controversial Value Added Tax (VAT) that the British Government plans to introduce in the Turks and Caicos Islands April 1 - at the beginning of the 2013/2014 financial year - saying there was no need because the current revenue streaming mechanism works.

Addressing s a news conference at the PDM Headquarters in Providenciales on Wednesday, January 16, Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson pointed out that between 1995 and 2003, the PDM administration grew the economy using current economic method. She said while in was important to search out other ways to shore up the economy, the implementation of VAT should not be a consideration.

“Alternative revenue is really not an issue with the opposition. As I have said, from our position, VAT is supposed to be revenue neutral though we know otherwise. The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) has not changed his position to say that it would yield more monies. But

if it is revenue neutral, why do we have to come up with alternatives. Now, coming up with alternatives for government is important because you want to grow your economy and there are things that we want to do. So that is really a government initiative,” she said.

The opposition leader told the news conference that her team was not ruling out making representation directly to the UK on the country’s vast opposition to the proposed tax, arguing that it would be more effective.

“It is nice to have a national campaign here, but we have to understand that we have to get to the players in the UK as well. And if you want to get a message out there undiluted, you would have to take the campaign outside of the Turks and Caicos Islands as well,” she said.

Cartwright Robinson said that her team would be meeting with Government to sort out a bipartisan position paper on VAT to put to the public so as to demonstrate that both the government and the opposition were speaking on the issue with one voice.

““We are hopeful that a stronger; a united opposition (against VAT)

can impact and make a difference. The reason that we would have taken care to present a position paper – detailed – setting out what we think the impact could be, it is to also show that we are not saying no for no’s sake, but we are really concerned about the uncertainty, and we are really concerned that we are going to be doing wrong and damage to our economy.

“I am using the words that the premier used yesterday (Tuesday, January 15), ‘we are hoping for the best, but the government may have to prepare for the worst’, she said.

She said that while her party was against the implementation of the tax, it did not deem it necessary to launch an anti-VAT campaign.

“I don’t want to start a united anti-VAT campaign and said we don’t expect for it to work. That saps your energy. We are going to passionately opposing this, because we do genuinely believe that it is not the right tax for our economy. If it wasn’t good enough for the Cayman Islands, according to the Miller Report, which has the same economy as we do – services, tourism – then it can’t be good for Turks and Caicos. And we can ill-afford to make any

mistakes at this time,” she said. In the meantime, former Chief

Minister for the Turks and Caicos Islands, Hon. Derek Taylor is warning that implementation of VAT could create an exodus of investors from Turks and Caicos. He said that there were other jurisdictions that investors could look at for investing their money in light of the imminent implementation of VAT.

“There are a number of initiatives that have fallen along the way in terms of dealing with our tax base that we need to take a serious approach to. I am saying let us look at what we did between 1995 and 2003; that was the reason the whole region and the whole world began to look at the Turks and Caicos as a small jurisdiction and wonder how they were making it.

“We have to look at the expenditure and have to be sensible about it. We cannot also price ourselves out of the market. We compete regionally and in fact internationally with what we have. Here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, we have a product out of this world. When you start to tax it, it (tax)is going to kill it. So we are saying come, let us reason together and be honest,” he said.


LOCAL NEWS‘Washie’ prepares to risk ministry appointment for anti-VAT stance

By Vivian Tyson

Minister responsible for Finance, Washington Misick is hinting that he would be prepared to risk his ministerial appointment in opposing the British Government’s thrust to implement Value Added Tax (VAT) on April 1 this year.

Addressing a hastily called news conference in the conference room at the Tourist Board office on Providenciales after the UK rejected his government’s request to delay the tax scheme until it presented a credible alternative measure; Misick said that the latest move by the British government was a clear demonstration of its heavy-handedness towards its Overseas Territories.

He urged members of the public to join with the Progressive National Party (PNP) administration in opposing the tax’s implementation.

“The opposition to Value Added Tax was a part of the platform of the Progressive National Party and the PDM. So, we sent a strong message from the beginning. If there was a genuine interest in the partnership and they truly believe that Value Added Tax was the best thing for these islands they would do what they are asking us to do.

“The heavy-handed disrespect and disregard for the wishes of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands cannot continue; we cannot sit around and allow it to continue, even to the point of civil disobedience. We cannot sit around and allow ourselves to be emasculated by the United Kingdom

because they hold as guarantee for us of $260 million, which we are doing everything we can to grow the economy so we can finance that. We are also looking at ways in which do not have to use them as guarantor,” he asserted.

Misick told the media gathering that while the UK government had declared that VAT would yield approximately $10 million, his government’s alternative revenue scheme so far has promised more than $15 million.

“It is assumed that they would raise $10 million extra. Not all of the work has been completed on our projections, and we are showing between $15 million and $16 million of extra revenue. They’ve asked us to provide an evidenced-based alternative. Well, I have seen no evidence (that Value Added Tax is in our best interest.

“If there is genuine interest in respect for an elected government, they would look to be sitting around a table and negotiate like they negotiate with any other group of people in their own country or in other nations,” Misick

argued. The finance minister argued that the

latest move by the UK administration proved that there was no intention on their part to open the dialogue window to VAT, but rather chose to elect an attitude of dictatorship.

“They are about to spend half of a million dollars on a (VAT) software. If there was a genuine interest in working with us, would they go out and spend that money before we even had an opportunity to properly debate the merits or demerits of what we are proposing? It tells me that there is no genuine interest here in a partnership.

“They have made a decision; egos are involved, and they are intent on pushing it (VAT) down the throat of this country. And I think we should all rebel against it. I have no intention, and the governor can do what he likes. He has got the right to revoke my appointment as minister for finance, and he can do that. He can call in his prosecutors, he can full his jails, and he can direct his courts.

“But as far as I am concerned, I am opposed to Value Added Tax, and what we are proposing as government and as responsible parliament; we are proposing alternatives that make sense to us, and will help to grow our economy, and protect our people. That’s what I came here for,” Misick reiterated.

He remarked that it was a long-held principle by the British that only government was supposed to

implement taxation, but stressed that their latest decision suggested an about-face from that fundamental principle.

“It is a basic fundamental principle of British democracy that only Parliament can enforce tax on the people – that goes back centuries. And what they are trying to do is against their own principles and their own common law. Whether it is good for us or bad for us, the community generally opposes Value Added Tax.

“He (Minister Mark Simmons) has written to the premier, asking us to educate the public. Well, it is not our business to educate the public on what we disagree with. And in fact that is what they should have done at the very beginning. That was never done; and I have no intention of educating the public. As far as we are concerned, our focus is on opposing this. We have credible alternatives that do not substantially alter the way we do business in this country and will get far more revenue than what they are projecting from Value Added Tax,” Misick further argued.

He added “We don’t want to be a European economy. European economies are shrinking, and all the time they turn around is to soak the rich, and that is not the attitude we want to have in this country. We want to create an environment where people can prosper and do well, and we can help them to do well. If you look at, with the exception of maybe Germany, all of the European economies are shrinking and all they (UK) keep doing is imposing taxation on people and trying to find tax loopholes that don’t even exist. We are not interested in that; that is not the culture we want to encourage.”

Washington Misick


LOCAL NEWSGovernment, Opposition, Chamber

united against VATBy Vivian Tyson

The governing Progressive National Party (PNP) and its opposition counterpart the Peoples Democratic Movement has vowed to unite to fight the impending imposition of Value Added Tax which to come into effect on April 1 – the beginning of the new financial year.

At a joint news conference on Thursday, January 17, at the LIME Corporate Office in Providenciales, where they earlier entertained members of the Chamber of Commerce, both political entities said they would do everything that their resolve would offer them, to fight what they termed as the arbitrary imposition of the tax by the United Kingdom Government.

Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing and his Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson indicated that even while campaigning to form the first government after almost four years of direct British regime that they were expecting to be fought tooth and nail on certain issues and that VAT’s implementation was one of them.

Both were however, quick to

point out that they were ready for the fight, and would not back down in taking it to the British.

“This is what I had expected and there is more to come. But we are up to the challenge,” Ewing said.

For her part, Cartwright-Robinson said that she would be relentless in her fight against Value Added Tax for the Turks and Caicos Islands. She said that even during the election campaign, both parties did not hide their intention of uniting against the impending tax, which they said could cripple businesses and drive the populace further into poverty.

“Pretty much, we were expecting that there would be some roadblocks. We didn’t expect for the FCO to rollover but we expected that there would be some level of respect for an elected government. We are prepared for this fight; we are. And we are happy to be joining forces on it,” she said.

Cartwright-Robinson also called on the media to be on top of the many efforts that the locally-elected leaders would be mounting to highlight their opposition to the tax, and especially for the populace to be kept abreast as to their efforts.

“I think it is important – your

role as well – going forward and reporting all of the efforts because we do need the information to get out to the man on the street and all sectors of society. When we meet in the House of Assembly for that bombshell meeting, you can be there, you don’t have to listen via radio,” Robinson urged.

In the meantime, the business sector appears firmly behind the two political entities. Businessman and economist Gilbert Morris declared:

“I think you saw democracy on display today here. The Premier and the government and the Opposition Leader are united on the tax model that they think is appropriate for the Turks and Caicos.

“And as you can see, almost every business is represented. I Resort Economic Council, the Chamber of Commerce is here, the Bar Association is here, accountants are here, architects are here – everybody is here.

“The meeting is not about the British, the meeting is what we all believe and the way forward for

the Turks and Caicos Islands. And think that is a matured, thoughtful and elegant way to present the commitment to democracy.”

Medical practitioner Sam Slattery shared the same sentiment: “I think what you are seeing here today is democracy action. You see elected representatives doing what we have elected them to do, which is to reach out to the community, and to ask their opinions. And I think that is entirely appropriate for the Turks and Caicos is moving on and we are no longer under an interim administration.

The British decided that we could have an elected government; I think it is appropriate that the elected government should therefore behave as such. We should be given independence to make our own decisions; we should be allowed to make our own mistakes.

Those of us who understand government feel that there are alternatives to pay down the debt, to restructure the debt and to remove that ultimate obligation of the British to underwrite the debt. But they have to give us some opportunity.”


LOCAL NEWSDeputy Governor Anya Williams refutes

attacks on her officeThe Deputy Governor has written personally to the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands to address her concerns about comments he made both in public meetings and reported in the media this week.

Anya Williams began her letter by reminding the Premier of his role in collective Cabinet responsibility for decision making, the correct forum for raising issues and resolving problems. Her note was sent to the Premier Hon. Rufus Ewing yesterday, Tue, 15 Jan 2013.

She noted that despite the claims made, the Deputy Governor's Office has no interest in retaining control of Government funds, denied using them to control Ministers, and reminded the Premier that she and the TCI public sector has sought to support him and Ministers at all times.

Her letter made clear that the TCI Government is free to determine government structures, and to put in place arrangements to have a function moved to another Ministerial portfolio, bearing in mind the structures and responsibilities that have been set out in the Constitution.

Williams' letter reminded the Premier of the pre-election briefings given to all would be Assembly Members and political parties where they were informed how Government would work, regardless of who came to office, and that no candidate or party expressed any concerns at that time.

Similarly, all candidates were informed that the priority for any incoming government two thirds of the way through the financial year (November) should be on the estimating and approval process for financial year 2013/14, which would already be significantly delayed from its original timetable of October, due to the need to consult newly elected ministers on the development of a new FSPS and on new budget

priorities going forward. Her letter further reminded the Premier that

Cabinet agreed to this. She explained that if Ministers wished to change the existing 2012/13 budget they are at liberty to do so but this must be done by proper legal process via the House of Assembly and that this had to be done in addition to the complex drafting and approval process for the new financial year.

In relation to Assembly Member and Ministers’ pay and conditions, Williams' letter recalled to the Premier that it is the Integrity Commission Code of Conduct and Report on Remuneration that sets out Ministers' entitlements to pay, travel and all other arrangements, not the Office of the Deputy Governor that is charged with abiding by them.

If the Premier or Ministers are unhappy with the levels of pay or arrangements for allowances or the class of Ministerial travel provisions set out

in the Integrity Commission Report, and with the Governments current Travel Policy, this also should be taken up in Cabinet and set out to the House of Assembly and the Integrity Commission.

With regard to re-establishing and staffing the Office of the Premier, the Deputy Governor has had several discussions with the Premier in this regard and awaits a submission in this regard from his office. Similarly, the Premier's desire to set up a press office has not been budgeted for and will require a business case and supplementary funding this year or be dealt with in the new budget for 2013/14. Any such arrangement must also be consistent with legislation and the Integrity Commission Code of Conduct.

Finally, as a proud Turks and Caicos Islander, Williams pointed out to the Premier her commitment to securing employment for suitably qualified and experienced Turks and Caicos Islanders at every opportunity and her commitment to readopting the civil service. "My letter sought to reassure the Honourable Premier that my office and I stand ready to assist wherever necessary in helping fulfill the Government’s mandate," said Anya Williams. "Although it is not my preferred way of doing business as there are serious other issues of national importance that are at hand, such has been the breadth and depth of the unmerited and inaccurate comments circulated this week, that I feel compelled me to respond.

"I conclude by reassuring the people of the Turks and Ciacos Islands that I, and the entire public sector, remain committed to making these Islands a better place in which to live and work. I will do everything in my power to develop a strong working relationship with all politicians of whatever hue and to work with the Premier and his Ministers."

Anya Williams

New Permanent Secretary appointed at TCIG Ministry of Education

Cheryl-Ann Jones has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Education in the Turks and Caicos Island Government (TCIG) by His Excellency, Governor Ric Todd.

Her appointment follows a competitive selection process which saw seven applications received. Mrs Jones was previously Deputy Permanent Secretary in the TCIG Ministry of Government Support Services (GSS).

She has worked in the TCI public sector for twenty years, having been previously worked as the country’s National AIDS Program Coordinator, Training Director. She holds a MSc in Human Resource Management and a BSc in Social Work. Together with her Minister and other colleagues,

Mrs Jones will be working to address manpower, education ordinance, potential curriculum reviews and will seek to address overcrowding in TCI schools, particularly in Providenciales.

She also wishes to look at the better use of technology in the class room, seek to building partnerships both internally and externally, and to work with the College Board to bring together its offering with the needs of the Islands.

The Ministry’s Youth Department’s National Youth Policy will shortly be submitted to Cabinet, and through the Sports Department will look at developing a program to strengthen sporting initiatives across the islands in a coherent structured way.

“This appointment of this high profile Turks and Caicos Islander to this very important position shows the huge steps being taken to build up the capacity and capability within the TCIG civil service,” said Governor Ric Todd.

“Mrs Jones performed very well as a Deputy Permanent Secretary within the Government previously, and was an excellent candidate throughout the section process. On behalf of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, I would like to take this opportunity to say very well done and that we look forward to you succeeding in this position which will play a vital role in the future of these Islands.”


LOCAL NEWS


LOCAL NEWSFORMER PNP GOVERNMENT WAS

NEVER IN SUPPORT OF VATBy Floyd Hall – Former Minister of Finance

It is most gratifying to see that the two political parties and the business community have finally gotten together to unify around a common cause in the best interest of the people of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Sadly though, it seems as if it has taken the British Governor and the FCO stepping on the toes of some people or some groups directly before they could appreciate the gross injustice that has been meted out on this beautiful country before unified action is taken. Having said that, it is a good thing that we have achieved some modicum of cohesion, even if this may only be for the benefit of some business owners’ personal self-interest.

However, I wish to address a point that is dear to me and my former colleagues in that the former PNP administration is being misrepresented by Neil Smith in the Governor’s Office as it relates to his comments on VAT.

In Mr. Smith’s statement to the

press on 15 January 2013 addressing the implementation of VAT, he stated that the former PNP Government was in support of VAT. That statement is completely false.

While it is the case that the former PNP had agreed to explore the option of selecting one of four taxation models being imposed on us by advocates for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Union, IMF and the FCO to obtain compliance with international tax

standards in our Financial Services Industry and to achieve revenue sustainability, it was never the case where VAT was selected as a done deal for implementation in the Turks & Caicos Islands by our PNP administration.

For Neil Smith to suggest that the noble intentions by our government to search for sustainable revenue streams for our country as an endorsement of VAT is grossly misleading and is typical of how the Governor’s Office has been conducting the affairs of this country for the last three years.

It was in my budget address of 2007 when I first informed the people of the Turks & Caicos Islands about comprehensive revenue reform for our country. A direct quote from that address follows:

“While recent revenue growth has been positive, it is concentrated in a few areas. We need to lessen our dependence on import duties as global tariffs reduction become more commonplace. If we do not do likewise, our competitiveness in attracting foreign investment could be eroded. The current tax regime also needs to be widened if we are to raise the necessary revenue on a sustainable basis to implement our plans. We also need to have a tax regime, which incentivizes positive behaviours and penalizes negative ones. Mr. Speaker, these objectives can be achieved through the introduction of alternative broad based taxes that are elastic, and the introduction of user charges where they can serve to defray costs. The time to act is now - we plan to consider all options.

In this regard, Mr. Speaker, I led a delegation to the Bahamas last week to discuss their revenue regime and strategies, and develop technical cooperation and exchanges in this area. We have already held discussions with the Caribbean Area Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) concerning technical assistance to prepare a Tax Policy Study for consideration by government. This study would look at our economic structures, tax regime and recommend reforms to increase revenue yield on a sustainable basis. We are committed to this worthy task. I look forward to keeping this Honourable House and the nation informed of activities in this area.”

I later made a follow up reference to broadening our revenue base in the 2008 budget but never did I offer support for VAT or any other comprehensive tax mechanism. Unfortunately the study referenced to in the 2007 address never materialized as the country was hit by two successive hurricanes in 2008

causing extensive damage throughout the country and the global financial collapse that immediately followed in 2009 made the exercise untenable.

Our administration back in 2007 was asked to consider four different models: income tax, property tax, sales tax and VAT.

Preliminary indications from the business sector at the time suggested that the real estate and hotel industries had no appetite at all for income tax or property tax. It was believed that the real estate market was just getting its legs firmly established and that any form of taxes on income or property would be a serious deterrent to investment and would derail the real estate sector. The sales tax and VAT likewise had vociferous opposition to them albeit less so than the others but never was there any decision nor was there any canvassing of support for one tax over the other by the former PNP administration.

To the best of my knowledge, the deliberate promotion of VAT was only done when the hand-picked members of the Advisory Council and Consultative Forum ill-advisedly passed legislation implementing VAT, Trials With-out Jury, and Hearsay Evidence legislation. My recollection at the time was that there was a public outcry against all three pieces of legislation. The radio talk shows vented the opposition of the people to these Bills and so did the print and televised media.

Ironically some of the very same people who were a part of these hand-picked bodies gave credibility to the same pieces of legislation that they are now vehemently against. Similarly, the very same Governor’s office who seeks to castigate and vilify the former PNP administration at every opportunity it gets now seeks to use this same administration to fortify its promotion of VAT.

There is a popular saying that I believe resonates universally which states “you cannot have your cake and eat it too”. I think this saying applies aptly to the Governor’s Office promotion of VAT as well as those who now oppose it and gave validity to its imminent implementation. I know some will be quick to say that they opposed those pieces of legislation when they sat on those bodies. To that I will use the other popular maxim which states “the devil is in the details”.

However, I believe that the entire country is relieved that the voices that seem to matter are speaking out in unison regardless of the channels that may have brought them to this central point. To that I say thank you to all and sundry as I do wish you success in this worthy undertaking to begin the New Year.

Floyd Hall – Former Minister of Finance


LOCAL NEWSPDM releases its position on VAT

The Interim Administration of 2009 – 2012 commissioned a revenue study that was conducted by Professor Alan Roe to “assess the various options available to the Government for a revenue strategy to meet the needs of the medium term.”

In the January 2010, Professor Roe’s Report – TCI: Current and Potential Revenue Sources: An Assessment, Professor Roe indicated that the serious economic crisis faced by the TCI economy was due to the global recession, hurricane damage and “self-inflicted wounds from mal-administration.” He also indicated of our existing system “notwithstanding its somewhat unconventional nature, this structure had proved able to deliver relatively strong revenue growth.”

VAT was presented as one of the options for the medium term. It was presented as a tax which would be assessed on a broader base but at a lower rate, and one which would bring sustainable revenues to the Turks and Caicos.

The process from the preparation of the Green Paper to the passage of the VAT legislation was rushed and met with resistance from every angle of our society. The model which was used to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of VAT as a sustainable and affordable form of revenue generation was not discussed or shared with the PDM so we are therefore unable to place any reliance on the Interim Administration’s findings in that regard. We believe that there was no real consultation and there was no opportunity for real buy in.

In April 2012 the Interim Administration announced its intention to introduce Value Added Tax (VAT), a new system of taxation with its main goals being to “help restore fiscal balance and a sustainable economy, alleviate poverty and contribute to other critical social development”. Amongst much controversy, and without public

support, or adequate consultation, VAT was signed into law on Thursday July 19, 2012.

OUR POSITION The Peoples’ Democratic Movement takes the

position that the consultation process was faulty and conclusions reached by the Interim Administration could not be adequately supported by feedback received from industry professionals with decades of doing business and working in the TCI. We cannot support the implementation of VAT for the following reasons:

1. Increase in the Cost of Living in the Turks and Caicos Islands- With the implementation of VAT comes the increase in the price of all goods and services in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

2. Increase in Cost of Essential Services-VAT will increase the cost of education, medical services and domestic financial services in the TCI. These services are categorised as “exempt”, therefore providers are unable to charge VAT to its customers, however they will have to pay VAT on taxable purchases. This additional cost will then be passed on to the customer increasing the cost of the service. VAT will indirectly increase the cost of three of the most vital services in our Country

-Medical, Educational and Financial Services3. VAT Violates the Equity Principle

of Taxation. VAT is a regressive tax that disproportionately disadvantages the poor, since it is a consumer tax and the poor is more likely to spend more of its income.

4. Negative Impact on Businesses Not Meeting the VAT Threshold- There will be a significant number of businesses with turnover of less than $200,000. These businesses will not be required to register for VAT. They will be required to pay Input VAT on Goods and Services and expected to pass this on as higher prices. VAT registered businesses may refrain from doing business with these smaller

businesses since the VAT embedded in the higher prices cannot be recovered. This could eventually result in the closure of many small local businesses in the TCI.

5. Economic cost to Small Businesses- Small businesses that do not meet the VAT threshold will eventually register for VAT in order to retain major clients and/or remain competitive. As a result, these businesses will now have to update their Accounting and or computer systems or engage the services of an Accountant to track VAT. This would result in increased operating cost and possible bankruptcy, again leading to closure of small businesses

6. Opportunity Cost to Small Businesses- Small business that are in the proposed VAT threshold range may have fixed or consistent operational expenses, such as payroll, rent, utilities, etc., that may result in a very small net profit or loss annually. Since VAT is expected to be paid based on invoices raised and not on collection, this could place an unnecessary burden on the cash flows of these businesses, which could eventually lead to their closure.

7. Property Tax Concerns – According to the VAT White Paper, 11% VAT will be applied to all land transactions where no stamp duty is applied.

• Generation property which currently does not attract stamp duty once it is transferred from parent to child or vice versa may now be subject to VAT. If a child or parent is unable to pay VAT on this category of transfer, the family member can be faced with extra fees or losses due to their inability to pay.

• Land Transactions which are now not subject to stamp duty will be subject to VAT of 11% a rate higher than the current highest stamp duty rate and which would apply to heritage property, or lower value property.

8. Outside the Scope of the Interim Administration- Such a dramatic change in our tax system should be the responsibility of an elected Government with a mandate. We believe that as our colleague Josephine Connolly coined “It is not so much a matter of VAT, but one of Democracy.”

CONCLUSION Governments are put in place to develop laws

and policies that protect society and generations to come. While we can appreciate the need for Government to ensure a steady stream of revenue to foster greater fiscal health and a sustainable economy for the Country, there must be a less penalizing means to accomplish this goal.

We have grown this economy and managed well under the existing tax regime and are not convinced that our economy has outgrown this method. We certainly believe that an increase in resources in compliance will yield much. In fact the Roe Report said that the existing system produced

“strong revenue”. We understand the plight of the people and are

careful to increase any further burden on an already heavily taxed shrinking tax base.

Our residents and citizens are still trying to recover from effects of the recession. To implement a tax system that is particularly burdensome to the middle class and the poor will not alleviate poverty but create poverty. Governments have to reach a delicate balance between having a stable economy and imposing taxes that could result in contracting the economy. We are above all really concerned about the uncertainty of the imposition of the TAX. We cannot afford to make a mistake at this time as it relates to our economy.


LOCAL NEWS

LaundryAttendantRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Physicallyfito PreviousexperienceincommercialLaundryanassist

SecurityDepartmentRequires:

SupervisorRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Oneyear’sexperienceinahotelenvironmentanasset.

SecurityOfficersRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o PhysicallyFito Abilitytowritereportso Attentiontodetailandabilitytoenforceprocedure

Hourlyratefortheabovementionedpositionsrangefrom$5.00to$9.00

HousekeepingDepartmentrequires:

RoomAttendants/DomesticWorker Housemen PublicAreaAttendants/cleanerRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Oneyear’sexperienceinahotelenvironmentanasset.o Physicallyfit

Therateforthepositionslistedaboveis$5.00to$5.50anhour.

StewardingDepartmentRequires:

SupervisorRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Experiencemanagingacleaningteam

StewardRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o PhysicallyFito Abilitytocarryoutlabourintensivecleaningtask

Therateforthepositionlistedaboveis$5.00to$5.50anhour.

FoodandBeverageDepartmentrequires:

ServerRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Oneyear’sexperienceinarestaurantwithseatingforover100personsanasset.o Noallergiestoanyfoodso Physicallyfit

BarPorter BartenderRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Excellentcustomerserviceskillso Knowledgeofwinesmixingalcoholicandnon-alcoholicbeverages

DiningRoomCleanerRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o PhysicallyFito Abilitytocarryoutlabourintensivecleaningtask


PhotoshopDepartmentrequires:

SupervisorRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o ExperiencesupervisingStafflocatedintworetailoutlets

Photographer

ShopAttendantRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o 2years’experienceinfieldo Abilitytosellandmakequotas


EngineeringDepartmentrequires:

Electrician Plumber RoomTechnicians A/CTechnicians CabinetMakerorMason StoveTechnician CarpenterRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Knowledgeableofinrelatedfieldsbothintheoryandpractical


Labour PainterRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o PhysicallyFito Abilitytocarryoutlabourintensivetask


RoomsDivisionDepartmentRequires:

ButlerRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o MemberoftheAssociationofEnglishButlerso Abilitytogoaboveandbeyondforguest

Receptionist/FrontOfficeAgent ConciergeAgent AirportRepresentativeRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Backgroundincustomerserviceo Abilitytogoaboveandbeyondforguest

Bellman MinibarStocker/AttendantRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o PhysicallyFito Outgoingandfriendlyattitude


EntertainmentDepartmentrequires:

KidsCounselor/AttendantRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Anoutgoingpersonalityrequiredo Certificateinearlychildhoodeducationanasseto FirstAidqualificationanasset


EntertainmentDepartmentrequires:

Funpals/Players/Dancers/ClownsRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Anoutgoingpersonalityrequiredo Abilitytosinganddance


GroundsDepartmentsrequires:

Supervisoro Experiencemanagingagroundsteam

Groundsman/ladyRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Physicallyfito Abilitytocarryoutlabourintensivetask

Therateforthepositionlistedaboveis$5.00to$8.50anhour.

TheWatersportsDepartmentrequires:

BoatCaptain FirstMateRequirementsincludebutnotlimitedto:o BoatLicenseo Experiencewithacrewover7persons

Scuba/DiveInstructorRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o PhysicallyFito Certifiedinfirstaido PADICertified

BeachandPoolAttendantsRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:o Keepthepool/beachareatidyandcleano FirstAidqualificationanasset

AllpersonsintheWatersportsDepartmentmusthavetheabilitytoswimandpassaswimendurancetest

Hourlyratefortheabovementionedpositionsrangefrom$5.00to$9.00

KitchenDepartmentrequires: Baker PastryChef/Cook Chef CookRequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto:

o MusthaveworkedinaResortkitchenormediumtolargesizedrestauranto Musthaveoverthreeyears’experienceo Professionalqualificationanasset

Therangeintheratesforthepositionslistedaboveis$5.00to$10.00anhour.

SpaDepartmentRequires

SpaAttendant Cosmetologist SpaTherapist HairBraider Technician

Theidealcandidatemustsatisfythefollowingcriteria:

o Certificationinoneormoreofthefollowingareas:Massage,Esthetics,Bodytreatments,Hairservices,TattoosandNailservices.

Remuneration:Bi-weeklybasepaypluscommission

Applicationsgivingfulldetailsofqualificationsandexperienceshouldbesentto:

[email protected]:941-4870

Attn:MMcClean-VaughnTheHumanResourcesDepartmentBeachesTurksandCaicosP.O.Box186LowerBightRoad

and

TheLabourCommissionerLabourDepartmentProvidenciales

andshouldreachnotlaterthanJanuary12th2013.

Come and join our winning team!!!BeachesTurks&CaicosResortVillagesandSpa,theonly6DiamondallinclusivepropertyintheCaribbeanisinvitingapplicationsfromsuitablyqualifiedTurksandCaicosIslandersforthefollowingvacantpositions.

ApplicantsmusthaveacleanpolicerecordandagoodcommandoftheEnglishlanguagebothwrittenandspoken.Inadditioncandidatesmustbeabletoworknights,publicholidaysandweek-ends.TheResortthankseveryonefortheirinterestinadvanceandadvisesthatonlyshortlistedapplicantswillbecontactedforaninterview.LaundryDepartmentrequires:


LOCAL NEWS Parrot Cay Resort and COMO Shambhala have vacancies for the

following positions:

HOTEL GENERAL MANAGER

We are looking for a highly self motivated professional who possesses a keen interest in hospitality with the ability to effectively manage a well established Luxurious Five Star Resort. The successful candidate will be responsible for the following:

• Effective running of the day- to -day operation of the hotel while ensuring that all cost effective measures are enforced.

• Maintain a positive and professional work attitude towards all employees and Guest.

• Attending to the needs of all internal and external guests with a drive to meet and exceed expectations as well as providing top quality services to all guests while achieving guest satisfaction.

• Efficiently manage all aspects of the hotel operation.• Develop and enforce new rules and policies as the need arise.• Analyzed and prepare operating and capital expense budgets for the hotel when necessary.

• Maintain confidentiality at all times with a view of protecting the resort and its customers.

• Look after the up keeping and maintenance of the entire resort and its Assets. Qualification and Experience:

The successful candidate must have:

• Previous General Manager experience • At least a Master Degree in Hospitality or Hotel Management • Proven Multi Island and European Training Experience • Strong F & B capabilities and a minimum of 10 years Luxurious Hotel Experience• Ability to function effectively in a multi cultural environment• Excellent communication, organizational and decision making skills.• Excellent Computer skills.• The ability to maximize profit while cutting operational cost on a daily basis• Must live on property and be willing to work long hours including Public Holidays and weekends.

HOTEL PROJECTS MANAGER

We are looking for a highly self motivated professional with a keen interest in project development within the hospitality Industry. The successful candidate must be able to develop and manage special projects supervised by the Director of Caicos Holdings. Previous experience and a proven track record as a Project Manager within a well established Luxurious Five Star Resort is a plus. The successful candidate will be responsible for the following:

• Plan and effectively execute all projects designated by the Director of the resort.• Making sure that all projects are successfully completed within a reasonable timeframe base on strict deadlines.

• Organized and take a leading role to ensure that all projects are personally monitored on a daily basis.

• Control and close all projects in line with the resort and planning department standards.

• Conduct feasibility studies when necessary to ensure that only the most viable projects are undertaken.

• Must competently calculate cost, time and staffing necessary for each project.• Must be able to work within the limits of a tight Budget, while ensuring that all cost effective methods are in place to achieve the goals of the organization.

• Communicate to the director on the progress of all projects on a daily basis. • Must be capable of working alone with limited supervision.• Maintain a positive and professional work attitude towards all employees and Guest.

• Look after the up keeping and maintenance of all special projects. The candidate must demonstrate care and respect for guest, fellow colleagues and the resort as a whole.

Qualification and Experience:

The successful candidate must have:

• Previous experience as a Project Manager.• Strong leadership abilities.• At least a Master Degree in Projects Management. • Excellent time Management and problem solving skills.• Strong project development capabilities and a minimum of 10 years project development experience within a luxurious resort.

• Ability to function effectively in a multi cultural environment.• Excellent communication, organizational and decision making skills.• Excellent Computer skills.• The ability to maximize output while cutting material cost on a daily basis.Must live on property and be willing to work long hours including Public Holidays and weekends

PRIVATE ESTATE MANAGER

The successful candidate will be a hard working, reliable individual with excellent

communication and operations skills. We are looking for a highly motivated individual who enjoys working with people from various nationalities in a challenging but rewarding work environment.

Duties performed in the role would include, but are not limited to:

• Work closely with the Sales and Special Projects Manager in order to combine work on the houses with maximum rental sales.

• Regular communication with the Home Owners and the Sales and Special Project Manager to ensure all parties are informed of any work being done or issues within the homes which could affect sales.

• Keep account of all expenditure related to the upkeep of the home including staffing and services, working within a budget to combined benefit of the homeowner and the resort

• Ensure all daily operations in the homes are completed to the satisfaction of the General Manager. Liaise closely with the Chief Engineer, Landscaping Manager and Executive Housekeeper to ensure all work is completed as efficiently as possible.

• Undertake daily inspections of all private residences in the Parrot Cay rental pool and complete daily, weekly and monthly checklists for each property.

• Maximize liaison with home owners when they are both on and off island. Whilst on island prioritize your time to ensure you are available for them at all times

• Handle all special demands and needs during the festive period and assist with all needs of the guests.

The success candidate must possess the following skills:

• Diplomacy, discretion and understanding of high profile guests and homeowners

• Knowledge of project management practices, principles, techniques and tools

• Capability in basic home maintenance• Ability to work independently• Pro-activity to identify potential issues before the arise• Basic accounting skills and ability to fully comprehend legal documentation

• Fluent in English (Written & spoken)

Applicants must have at least five year experience at a managerial level, salary ranges from $55,000 to $60,000 per annum.

Managerial Positions:

• Director of PC Hotel Management/ Caicos Holdings

Assistant Food and Beverage ManagerAssistant Financial ControllerEstates Guest Services ManagerReservations Manager

Job Requirement:

Candidates interested in the above positions will be required to work long hours, live on property and are expected to work during the night, weekends and Public Holidays.

Other AVAILABLE POSITIONS:

Chef de PartieSpa TherapistSenior Spa TherapistSpa AttendantLine ChefChef de PartieAccountantResort NurseFood & Beverage ServerBartenderResort ButlerBellmanNight Auditor/ReceptionistButlerSous ChefK9 Dog HandlerTurndown AttendantPrivate Estates Attendant Salaries for these positions will be paid base on qualification and experience. Please note that all application must be submitted with a valid Police Record, two reference letters from previous employers or a notary public and current educational certificates.

Only suitable candidates will be contacted for an interview.Forward your resume to the Human Resources Department at the following address:

Parrot Cay Resort and COMO ShambhalaP.O. Box 164Providenciales, Turks & Caicos IslandsPh: (649) 946 7788, Fax: (649) 946 7749Email: [email protected]


LOCAL NEWS‘Three strikes you’re out’ policy is not draconian

By Vivian Tyson

Education Minister Hon. Akierra Misick said that her “three strikes and you’re out” rule remark made recently regarding disruptive students at high schools has been misconstrued by some in the community.

The purported policy has been considered by the education minister after a reported violent confrontation by students at the Clement Howell High School in December, which caused outsiders to invade the institution’s compound with weapons, seeking to harm some students said to have been involved in the fight. There were initial allegations of shots being fired by the hoodlums, but the police later refuted such charge. The incident has prompted school-hour-long police presence every day.

Responding to queries that her proposed policy had raised the eyebrows of at least one children’s rights group, which claimed that her comments were a violation of children’s rights under the United Nation’s Children’s Charter on the Rights of the Child, Misick asserted that some of those commenting on the matter were wittingly or

unwittingly twisted her position on the topic. She said that the rule would be aimed

at stemming hooliganism among the school populations at government institutions, as a means of safeguarding the students.

One of the groups which found the education minister’s statement inappropriate is the Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Association (CAPAA). The group was reported as saying that the Minister’s policy, if implemented, could violate students’ rights.

The education minister pointed out however, that the rule was not intended to marginalize any child but rather to ensure that public schools do not degenerate into an environment unsuitable for learning, but rather to ensure that they serve their intended purposes. She pointed out that children who display disruptive behavior often unstable the learning equilibrium of those who have a genuine desire to learn, and so, such behavior would not be allowed to prolong.

“The purpose of three strikes you’re out rule is that if you are continuing your deviant behavior on school property you are creating a safety concern for the other students, as well as the teachers and

staff of the property, and that behavior cannot be allowed.

“So, that is our no tolerance policy that would be forwarded on in relation to this sort of behavior on all the schools’ properties, in particular Clement Howell, has been brought to the forefront of it. And we are asking for parents and guardians to understand that your child can be removed from public school if this behavior continues,” she warned.

However, she said that before the programme is implemented, the Progressive National Party (PNP) administration would be looking to frame an alternative programme in which disruptive students would be allowed to enrolled and graduate with certificates.

“It is our government’s responsibility to ensure that there is an alternate programme for these students to be involved in, and that is what we are looking at formulating. But at the end of the day, your right to attend a government school is based on your behavior. So, if you continue to be deviant on school property you can no longer enjoy the pleasure and privilege of being educated in one of our public schools, and you may have to transfer to an alternative programme,” the minister warned.

2012 tourist arrivals see projected fallBy Vivian Tyson

A two-day industrial action by airport firefighters in March, the outbreak of the Noro-virus in the summer plus the snail’s pace at which the world economy was moving were fingered as the cause for the projected drop in land-based tourists arrival for 2012.

However, cruise ship arrivals continue to see increase despite initial figures showing that fewer ships have berthed at the Grand Turks Cruise Center. The foretelling dip in land-based tourism should see total figure falling short of the million arrival mark.

The tourist board said that data from the Grand Turk Cruise Center for calendar year 2012 (January-December) showed that the total number of ship calls were 261 (versus 270 in 2011) and the passenger arrivals were 676,647 an increase of 3.2% over 2011 which stood at 655,497.

It noted also that for calendar year 2011 the Turks & Caicos welcomed 354,223 land based visitors providing an aggregate total (cruise and land based) of 1,009,720 eclipsing the 1 million mark for the first time.

“As of November 2012 land based arrivals stood at 267,608 and while arrivals for December were still being tabulated, indicators, with the exception of January and February 2012, show that arrivals

were trending downward when compared to 2011. If this holds true, in December, we should expect a land based visitor count of approximately 25,000 which would put our total land based arrivals at approximately 293,000 and combined with cruise arrivals a total of approximately 970,000 visitors came to Turks & Caicos in 2012, just short of the 1 million mark,” the Tourist Board said in a news release.

“Overall, while 2012 visitor counts fell short it can be noted as being attributed to various setbacks that allowed for a slight decrease in comparative numbers to 2011. In March, a two-day industrial action contributed to decreased air service, the summer saw an outbreak of the Noro-virus affecting arrivals in the short-term and later in the year the passage of Hurricane Sandy contributed to a marked decrease in future bookings from the major source markets in which the TCI draws its visitors. A 25% reduction in the Boards overall budget also decreased the ability to effectively market in traditional and emerging markets,” the Board added.

It said that when the final numbers are in, exact visitors counts would be released. “In the future the Board will have the opportunity to provide more timely data on both a quantitative and qualitative basis with the introduction in 2012 of the CTO Mist

system which allows for the refinement of information collected at ports of entry,” it noted.

Meanwhile, the Tourist Board noted that that while Providenciales remains the tourist hub, all indications showed that land-based tourists were on the increase throughout the family islands of North and Middle Caicos as well as Grand Turk and Salt Cay. However, it said that South Caicos remains a challenge, but the Board was cognizant of the needs and has been making all effort to provide greater exposure to the Island.

Notwithstanding the challenges, the Tourist Board said it was confident about the prospects for visitor arrivals even in the face of sluggish economies in Europe and the US, pointing out that the overall economic downturn continues to see increased demand for information on the TCI.

Director Ralph Higgs was quoted as saying: “While obviously disappointed that we were unable to expand on the record breaking numbers achieved in 2011, I feel confident that the New Year will bring new vigor and new numbers to tourism in TCI. The challenges that we faced throughout the year were met and overcome with renewed determination to continue to bring Turks & Caicos’ ‘Beautiful by Nature’ message to the world.”

Kurt Walkin is 2012 “What’s in the Box” top winnerKurt Walkin walked away with the top prize of an all expense paid round trip ticket for two to New York courtesy of JetBlue and an ipad after becoming the first to give the correct answer in the ‘What’s in the Box’ Christmas Competition.

The item in the box was a bouquet of Pink Roses.The item in the box was revealed on Friday,

January 11. The first prize also includes hotel accommodation and airport pick-up.

Neekimo King won the second place prize of a Blackberry handset from LIME. The third prize winner was Cindy Ewing, who will receive a FCIB account valued $200. Kay Vanes-Williams walked away with the fourth prize of a 42-inch television set courtesy of Building Material.

Harvey said that as opposed to 2011, when there

was one winner, the aim this time around, was to allow more persons inside the winners’ enclosure. She explained that the answers were tracked by computer, so as to correctly declare the winners in proper order.

“We gave more people the opportunity to win the prize. And this year what we did was that, whoever got it (correctly named the item in the box) first, second, third, fourth – in that order (were declared the winners). It is done by computer, so we can see the date, we can see the time, we can authenticate that these persons had the answer and it came in at this particular time,” Harvey said.

She said also that LIME recorded greater participation at the end of the just-concluded contest over the 2011 staging, with more than 2,000 responses. The responses for 2011 were roughly 1,200. Harvey said that the money raised would go to its adopted

school – the Oseta Jolly Primary School in Blue Hills. LIME charged $1 per text.

Adelphine Pitter, Resident Manager for Grace Bay Club, said that the vibe on the street in response to the “What’s in the Box” contest almost reached fever pitch in the community.

“The Good thing about it is not only that people wanted to win the prize, it just creates such a curiosity. People just want to know, what’s in that box,” Pitter said.

The “What’s in the Box” competition is sponsored by the Grace Bay Resorts Community Foundation, telecoms giant LIME, CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, Building Materials and the Tourist Board.


LOCAL NEWSPage 21JANUARY 16TH - JANUARY 26TH, 2013TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS


LOCAL NEWS


LOCAL NEWS

Deputy Governor Anya Williams speaks out – Page 14

Page 23JANUARY 16TH - JANUARY 26TH, 2013TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS


LOCAL NEWSPage 25JANUARY 16TH - JANUARY 26TH, 2013TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS


LOCAL NEWS

Someone once told me that you have to chooseWhat you win or lose, you can’t have everythingDon’t you take chances, you might feel the painDon’t you love in vain ‘cause love won’t set you freeI could stand by the side and watch this life pass me bySo unhappy, but safe as could be

So what if it hurts me?So what if I break down?So what if this world just throws me off the edge

My feet run out of ground?I gotta find my place, I wanna hear my soundDon’t care about all the pain in front of me‘Cause I’m just trying to be happy, ya

Just wanna be happy, ya

Holding on tightly, just can’t let it goJust trying to play my role, slowly disappear, ohBut all these days, they feel like they’re the sameJust different faces, different names, get me out of hereBut I can’t stand by your side, oh noAnd watch this life pass me by, pass me by

So what if it hurts me?

So what if I break down?

So what if this world just throws me off the edge

My feet run out of ground?

I gotta find my place, I wanna hear my sound

Don’t care about all the pain in front of me

‘Cause I’m just trying to be happy, oh, happy, oh

So any turns that I can’t see

Like I’m a stranger on this road

But don’t say victim, don’t say anything

So what if it hurts me?

So what if I break down?

So what if this world just throws me off the edge

My feet run out of ground?

I gotta find my place, I wanna hear my sound

Don’t care about all the pain in front of me

I just wanna be happy, oh, yeah, happy, oh, happy

I just wanna be, oh, I just wanna be happy

Oh, happy


LOCAL NEWSENTERTAINMENTPage 27JANUARY 16TH - JANUARY 26TH, 2013TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWSENTERTAINMENT

The Kardashian clan is about to have a new addition to the family now that reality-TV star Kim Kardashian is pregnant with Kanye West's child, according to her rep.

West, 35, broke the news Sunday night during a concert in Atlantic City. West told more than 5,000 concertgoers to congratulate his "baby mom" and that this was the "most amazing thing."

Kardashian, 32, confirmed the news in a blog post today.

"It's true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby," she wrote. "We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this

Kim Kardashian Confirms Pregnancyspecial time with us. Looking forward to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!! Xo"

"KIMYE!," sister Khloe Kardashian Odom tweeted. "Keeping secrets is hard with so many family members! Especially when you are so freaking excited!!!!! LOVE is everything!!!," she added.

Soon after the tweet, the hashtag #Kimye took off on Twitter and was trending worldwide. Most of the Kardashian clan tweeted their excitement via Twitter.

"Been wanting to shout from the rooftops with joy and now I can! Another angel to welcome to our

family. Overwhelmed with excitement!," tweeted Kardashian's other sister, Kourtney Kardashian, 33, who has two children of her own.

Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner, expressed her excitement on Twitter, tweeting, "Oh BABY BABY BABY!!"

Congratulatory tweets are already pouring in for the future parents.

"Congrats to Kim and Kanye. Happy for both of them," Russell Simmons tweeted.

Kardashian filed for divorce from NBA star Kris Humphries October 2011 after 72 days of marriage. The divorce is not yet finalized.

West and Kardashian began dating in April.

Uma Thurman explains daughter's superlong nameUma Thurman's daughter may have five names, but trust, there is a method to the moniker madness.

After revealing in October that she and boyfriend Arpad Busson decided to name their newborn baby girl—whom they welcomed in July—Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson (Luna for short), the actress is now opening up about her bundle of joy's superlong title and explained why she choose five names. Speaking with Jimmy Fallon Monday on Late Night, the Kill Bill star confessed that it was actually her 14-year-old daughter, Maya, who convinced her to keep the mouthful of monikers.

"[Maya] came up with the best excuse, [which] was that I probably wouldn't get to have any more children, so I just put every name I liked into [Luna's]," the 42-year-old star shared on the late-night talk show. After referencing Luna's surname and joking that "the last part makes sense," Uma went on to explain that she and Busson had a difficult time compromising.

Adele keeps baby under wraps while

strolling in Beverly Hills

She may be a newly minted Golden Globe winner, but Adele is also quite simply a mom, too.

And that was quite apparent when the "Skyfall" singer stepped out with her newborn son in Beverly Hills on Wednesday.

Adele stuns in black at the Golden GlobesWith the help of a colorful blanket, the 24-year-old

songstress made sure to keep her little fella under wraps, much like she did when she initially arrived in Los Angeles last week.

Adele and fiancé Simon Konecki (no, not the guy in the pic) welcomed their first child together in October.

The Grammy winner has yet to reveal the boy's name.

Khloé Kardashian Odom slams "Hurtful" Lamar divorce rumors

Khloé Kardashian Odom and Lamar Odom are doing just fine, thank you very much.

The E! star and X Factor host tells E! News that while she understands people are going to gossip about her personal life, divorce rumors are just plain

"hurtful.""Things are really good with Lamar," the 28-year-

old said. The lovebirds have "so many date nights," and while they know things are great between them, Lam is "so sensitive" to hurtful lies about their relationship. Fortunately, Khloé and Lamar's love is much stronger than the rumor mill.

Khloé also took to her blog today to slam the tabloids out there that persist in spreading falsehoods about her life, particularly regarding her marriage, speculation that she had a miscarriage, jealousy regarding her sisters and "the horrible lie that my dad is not my biological father."

"It is a complete waste of time to address these reports every time they print these ridiculous and absurd tabloid stories," she wrote, "but not only are these stories untrue, they're also unfair to the people

who buy the magazines expecting to read accurate reports. Anyone who pays attention to these things can easily see the incredible bond that everyone in my family shares. I'm happily married to a wonderful man and fall in love with him more and more each day, and we'll have a baby when god wants us to and when the time is right. These blatant lies are distasteful and shameless."

And while the youngest Kardashian sister's personal life is totally secure, her X Factor future is still uncertain. "I hope [I'll be back next season]!" she tells E! News. "We won't know until the final hour. I have no idea!"

"Everyone has a relationship with him," Khloé says of the Kardashians' longtime family friend. Lamar emails 'Ye rap verse, and Scott is going with him to Fashion Week.

They're also confident Kanye and Kim's little one is going to be an awesome kid. "It'll be a little fashionista or isto," she says. "They don't know what it'll be, but they'll be OK if they get it leather!"


LOCAL NEWS


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Page 30FEBRUARY 3RD - FEBRUARY 10TH, 2012 TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Page 30

DECEMBER 10TH - DECEMBER 17TH, 2010TURKS & CAICOS SUN

—2—

KFWS • MindGymDecember 13, 2010

—3—

KFWS • MindGymDecember 13, 2010

FUN & GAMES


LOCAL NEWSFUN & GAMES


LOCAL NEWS

ELITE ENTERTAINMENTCABARET PERFORMER/SINGER

Professional Singer/Entertainer

Must have at least 10 years international exposure & experience with hosting performing & singing in several languages including Italian French, Spanish, EnglishMust have recording studio experience able to work with professional sound systems. Must be extremely entertaining & have international appeal. Must be able to work long hour’s weekends and holidays. Must have own transportation.Contact 941-4656

Work permits on the increase in the Cayman IslandsThe Cayman Islands has about 1,000 more people employed on work permits now than it did a year ago, according to records provided by the Immigration Department, according to the Caymanian Compass newspaper.

As of 31 December, 2012, immigration officers recorded a total of 20,823 people in the Cayman Islands employed on work permits, government contracts, or working as an operation of the law. Those figures do not include individuals who hold permanent residence or non-Caymanians who are married to Caymanians and therefore would not have to obtain a work permit for employment.

Cayman Islands laws require any foreign workers who are not married to Caymanians or who do not have permanent residence to obtain a work permit or government contract before

taking a job here. On 31 December, 2010,

immigration records showed there were 20,564 work permit holders, government contract employees and foreigners working as an operation of the law in the Cayman Islands. A year later, 31 December, 2011, that number was 19,816. The year-to-year increase for work permits between December 2011 and December 2012 is roughly 5 per cent.

The figures provided by immigration are essentially a

“snapshot” of what exists in the territory at a particular time. The work permit figures may change from week-to-week or even daily, but over time they can be used to determine trends.

According to statistics, a low point for work permits was reached around late March 2011, when the overall numbers dropped to 18,828. Since

then, overall permit numbers have hovered between 19,000 and 21,000 people at any given time.

Year-end 2012 data shows the first evidence of any sort of sustained rise, albeit relatively slight, in work permit numbers since a major drop in permits that began in 2008. In the last quarter of 2008, more than 26,000 work permit holders were employed within the Cayman Islands.

The increase at the end of 2012 appeared mainly to be due to new permit grants and the extension of hundreds of term-limited workers’ permits through the use of Term Limit Exemption permits.

Local companies have applied on behalf of more than 1,000 non-Caymanian workers to extend their stay in the Cayman Islands beyond the normal seven-year term limit on residency set forth in the Immigration Law.

The Term Limit Exemption Permit, or TLEP, was created in lawmakers’ 2011 amendments to the Cayman Islands Immigration Law, mainly as a way to stave off the departure of a large number of foreign workers all at once and the economic blow that could carry. Many of those who came to Cayman just after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 or early 2005 would have reached their seven-year limit on residency sometime during 2011 or 2012.

Immigration officials have tallied some 2,350 workers in 2012 who would reach their seven-year limit on residence – often referred to as the rollover – and who would otherwise have to leave if they didn’t obtain key employee status or permanent resident status. All Term Limit Exemption Permits are set to expire in late October of this year unless government extends the legislation.

The same five nationalities continued to possess the lion’s share of work permits and/or government contracts within the Cayman Islands as

has been seen during the past decade. According to the Immigration

Department’s data for 31 December, 2012, Jamaicans possessed 8,432 work permits or about 40 per cent of the total. Filipinos accounted for 2,678 work permits (13 per cent); individuals from the United Kingdom possessed 1,824 permits (9 per cent); Americans had 1,337 work permits (6 per cent); and Canadians were granted 1,156 work permits (5.5 per cent).

Other nationalities possessing the greatest numbers of work permits were Hondurans (752), Indians (735), Guyanese (300), Colombians (262), Nicaraguans (259), Dominicans (250), Irish (248), South Africans (246) and Australians (205). All other nationalities in Cayman, more than 120 nationalities in total, had fewer than 200 permits per each group.

Immigration officials made progress on reducing the numbers of individuals working in Cayman as a “operation of the law” – which means they are awaiting the outcomes of permanent residence applications or waiting to hear back on appeals of denied work permits.

According to statistics, there were 644 people who fit into that group as of 31 December, 2012. That figure stood at 1,182 in late 2011 and at the start of 2009 it was more than 3,000.

The number of foreign workers in Cayman on government contracts was mostly unchanged during 2012. At the end of the year, 988 people were working on government contracts. Non-Caymanians with government contracts have also dwindled since late 2008, when more than 1,500 people held those working agreements.

Typically, government contracts are awarded only to expatriate workers. However, there are some Caymanian civil servants older than 60 who are required to obtain contracts to continue working beyond the normal retirement age.

Doctors condemn murder at Jamaica

hospitalKINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA) has condemned what it labelled “the gross disregard for staff at public health care institutions” after gunmen shot and killed a 36-year-old man at a hospital in the central parish of Clarendon on Tuesday.

“This, again, is a reflection of the breakdown of morals and values in society which has (raised) its ugly head,” the JMDA said in a statement.

Police, which have since established a post at the hospital, said Adif Washington was killed after two gunmen entered the medical institution and shot him.

The two armed men are reported to have entered the May Pen Hospital, tied up the security guard stationed at the entrance to the male surgical ward, where Washington was a patient and shot him at least four times as he slept.

Washington had earlier been shot seven times on Sunday as he was returning to his home from a police station where he had been reporting as part of the conditions for his bail on murder and kidnapping charges.

President of the Medical Association of Jamaica, Dr Aggrey Irons, in condemning the incident said the values of society have eroded to the point where things that were considered sacred are now treated with scant regard.

“I think that a treatment centre is a sacred place, not unlike a church where life-giving activities take place. I think that when we get to a stage in our development where negative elements start to lose respect for what is really holy ground, then we have to really sit up and take notice and we have to take practical steps to prevent this type of thing from occurring,” he said.

“It is something the we must take responsibility for and putting more police, guards and dogs at a location is one thing, but what we are really looking at is the deterioration in the value that we have put on life,” he added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of Crime, Glenmore Hinds, said the police post will operate on a 24-hour basis.

No one has been arrested in connection with the murder.


LOCAL NEWSCARIBBEAN NEWS

ELITE ENTERTAINMENTCABARET PERFORMER/SINGER

Professional Singer/Entertainer

Must have at least 10 years international exposure & experience with hosting performing & singing in several languages including Italian French, Spanish, EnglishMust have recording studio experience able to work with professional sound systems. Must be extremely entertaining & have international appeal. Must be able to work long hour’s weekends and holidays. Must have own transportation.Contact 941-4656

IVAN BARBERSHOPSEEKS

1 BarberSalary $5.00 per hour

Contact 331-1977

PUBLIC NOTICE 2013 – 1

Re: Fixed Services Price Regulation Review

14 January 2013

Turks and Caicos Islands Fixed Services Price Regulation Review Consultation

WHEREAS, the Telecommunications Commission pursuant to the TelecommunicationsAdministrative Procedure Regulations 2008, is initiating the present consultation process to seek comments on the Forbearance Proposal, including a series of specific related questions. The Turks and Caicos Islands Telecommunications Commission hereby gives notice that it is initiating this consultation process to assess the appropriateness of its proposal included in this Consultation Document.

NOW THEREFORE, the Commission announces the release for comments and consultation on the Fixed Services Price Regulation Review Consultation Document.

ACCORDINGLY, the Commission invites comments from interested parties on this proposed Forbearance Proposal. Comments should be submitted to the Commission within 4 weeks of the publication of this notice, and should reach the Commission by Monday, February 11, 2013, at their office at Business Solution Complex, Leeward Highway, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, or by mail to P.O. Box 203, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, or electronically via email at [email protected]. All submissions should be filed electronically even if also filed in paper form.

Obtaining Copies

Copies of the Fixed Services Price Regulation Review Consultation Document are available electronically on the Turks and Caicos Telecommunications Commission Web site at: http://www.tcitelecommission.tc

Stanford receiver seeks court approval for interim payment to investors

DALLAS, Texas – The receiver for jailed Texas financier Allen Stanford’s assets has sought approval from a US federal judge for interim payment to swindled investors.

In a filing in a federal district court , Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver, asked Judge David Godbey for his permission to pay more than 17,000 investors an initial distribution of US $55 million. If approved, Janvey said investors swindled by Stanford may receive an interim distribution payment worth a penny on the dollar of their losses.

The sum represents about 1 per cent of the US $5.1 billion investors lost on bogus certificates of deposit at Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd. (SIB), according to Janvey’s filing. “The receiver anticipates that future distributions will be made using amounts from the estate’s retained funds and additional amounts ultimately recovered through litigation, class action settlements and other asset recovery efforts,” said Kevin Sadler, Janvey’s lead lawyer, in the filing.

Stanford, 62, was convicted in March of swindling more than US $2

billion from depositors at his Antigua bank to finance a lavish personal lifestyle of private jets, yachts and mansions.

Stanford is serving a 110-year US federal prison sentence in Florida, as he appeals his conviction and sentence.

Investors initially claimed more than US $7 billion in losses from Stanford’s Ponzi scheme, which paid early investors above-market returns with funds taken from later investors.

Janvey said after reconciling 30,289 claims submitted to his Dallas- based receivership, he found many duplicates and discovered that most investors were trying to recover

“fictitious interest” listed on their statements when the US Securities and Exchange Commission seized Stanford’s businesses on suspicion of fraud in February 2009.

“Such balances were inflated by fictitious interest that had not yet been paid to them,” said Sadler in the filing.

He said Janvey calculated investors’ true losses through what he described as a “net loss approach, which is calculated on a ‘money in, money out’ basis – that is, money paid into the scheme minus any money returned to the investor.”

“Under the net loss approach, any

Drug charges dropped after

substance found not to be cocaine

ROSEAU, Dominica – Six men, including a St. Lucian national, were freed after a court was told that the illegal substance for which they were charged with was not cocaine.

Police had arrested the six men – Jeremiah “Miah” Challenger, Eustace Henry, Kenroy Paul, Nigel Dublin, Wendel Laurencine of St Lucia, and Omarie Mussington of St. Martin – on July 5, last year and charged them with importing

fictitious, unpaid interest that has accrued on SIB CDs is not recognized,” Sadler said.

Janvey did not disclose in his latest filing how much he has recovered for the estate or how much that recovery has cost. In a June court filing, he said total cash inflow for the estate was US $220.1 million as of May 31.

Of that recovery, he said US $56.5 million was paid in fees and expenses to the receiver and his team of lawyers and forensic professionals, and another us $51.9 million was paid in other expenses associated with winding down Stanford’s extensive business holdings.

Janvey said former Stanford employees and executives, as well as the Stanford investors and former suppliers who are being sued by the receiver in fraudulent-transfer actions, are excluded from the initial distribution plan.He said secured creditors will also not receive payment in the interim distribution plan.

If Judge Godbey approves the interim distribution plans, Janvey said payment could begin within 90 days of that approval.

30,000 grams of cocaine.The authorities said that the

substance had a street value of EC$750,000 (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents).

Defence attorney Wayne Norde, who represented three of the men, told the court on Monday that the substance found when the men were arrested had been tested in Barbados and found not to be cocaine


LOCAL NEWSWORLD NEWS

Two die in London helicopter crash

Two people were killed and 12 were hurt when a helicopter crashed into a crane on a building in central London.

The helicopter hit the crane on top of The Tower, One St George Wharf beside the Thames at about 08:00 GMT.

Cars and two buildings caught fire after the burning wreckage fell into Wandsworth Road in South Lambeth. Eighty firefighters tackled the blaze.The pilot, Capt Pete Barnes from charter firm Rotormotion, was killed, along with a person on the ground.

Mr Barnes, 50 and who lived near Reading, Berkshire, had asked to be diverted to a nearby heliport because of bad weather.

Metropolitan Police Commander Neil Basu told BBC News it was "miraculous" the crash was not much worse.

Five people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Seven people were treated at the scene. It is thought some of the injured were hit by falling debris.

Pakistan cleric’s party may take part in election

A cleric who has been pushing for electoral reforms in Pakistan will resort to street protests again if the government does not abide by an agreement

that eased a political crisis, an aide said on Friday.

Muhammad Tahirul Qadri, who has a history of ties with the military, reached a deal with Pakistan's ruling coalition on Thursday that will give his party some say over the formation of a caretaker government ahead of elections this spring. Qadri's party may also participate in the elections.

The cleric's reappearance on Pakistan's political stage a few weeks ago after years of living in Canada, and his calls for the military to play a role in forming an interim administration, has raised speculation he may be backed by the country's powerful army.

Qadri and the military deny this.The cleric, who led four days of street

protests in the heart of the capital aimed at forcing the government to resign, will keep pushing for political reforms and a halt to corruption, said his spokesman.

"We will ensure implementation of the agreement with full letter and spirit," Qazir Faizul Islam, secretary of information for Qadri's charity, told Reuters.

"If the government tries to deviate, we will force them to follow through the power of the people and media."

Aside from giving Qadri a voice in who leads the caretaker administration, the government also agreed to dissolve parliament before a scheduled date of March 16, although it did not specify a date.

It also said elections would be held within 90 days of the dissolution and electoral reforms would continue to be discussed.

An announcement of an election date

could come during a parliament session on Monday.

POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS?"After signing the agreement for

electoral reforms, we are part of the electoral process. We might take part in elections," said Islam, adding however that Qadri had no ambitions to become prime minister.

But the focus for the moment seems to be on the interim administration that will be formed after the dissolution of parliament and will oversee the elections.

A new political crisis could erupt if Qadri tries to promote candidates for caretaker prime minister seen to be sympathetic to the military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its history as an independent nation.

Qadri supported a 1999 military coup, and praised the military during speeches this week, appealing to thousands of supporters and members of the middle and lower class who have grown tired of Pakistan's dynastic politics.

Any disagreements between Qadri and the government on electoral reforms could also bring fresh turmoil, distracting the state from a host of challenges, ranging from a Taliban insurgency to crippling power cuts to a fragile economy.

Sectarian violence has risen sharply.Many businesses shut down on Friday

in Pakistan's commercial capital and biggest city Karachi after the killing of a politician in a drive-by shooting, police said, which raised fears of a fresh wave of sectarian violence.

Poisoned Chicago lottery winner

exhumed Authorities exhumed the body of a Chicago businessman Friday in hopes of learning exactly how he ingested a lethal dose of cyanide.

Urooj Khan died in July as he was about to collect $425,000 in lottery winnings. His death was initially ruled a result of natural causes, but a relative pressed for a deeper look. Full toxicology results revealed in November that Khan was poisoned. His death was reclassified a homicide. No suspects have been identified.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office hopes an autopsy, expected to be finished by Friday afternoon, will produce more evidence in the event the case goes to trial.

Spokeswoman Mary Paleologos says tests on the 46-year-old Khan's organs also may determine whether the poison was swallowed, inhaled or injected.

Last week, facing dozens of reporters crowded around her outside court after a judge signed off on the request, Khan's sister said the thought of her brother's body being unearthed and reexamined was disturbing — but essential.

"It's very hard," a tearful Marez Khan said. "I wanted my brother to rest in peace, but we have to have justice served." She added about the exhumation, "It has to be done."

Khan's July 20 death was initially ruled a result of natural causes. But a relative asked authorities to look deeper, triggering more exams that led to the conclusion in November that the businessman was intentionally poisoned.

A comprehensive autopsy initially wasn't performed because there were no outward signs of physical trauma and it was thought he died of cardiac arrests, the state's attorney's motion said.

It wasn't immediately clear when the exhumation will happen. The motion said the body wasn't embalmed, which would preserve the body longer, and so the exhumation needed to happen soon before further decomposition.

Police have released few details about the investigation; they have not announced any suspects or a possible motive or said which relative asked for the more thorough inquiry.

The man's wife, Shabana Ansari, has said she can't believe her husband had any enemies and that she was not involved in his death.

Germany to bring home gold stored in US, France

BERLIN — In what sounds like the setup for a stylish Hollywood heist movie, Germany is transferring nearly 700 tons of gold bars worth $36 billion from Paris and New York to its vaults in Frankfurt.

The move is part of an effort by Germany's central bank to bring much of its gold home after keeping big reserves outside the country for safekeeping during the Cold War. Shipping such a large amount of valuable cargo between countries could be a serious security headache. A gold robbery — the subject of such movies as

"Die Hard 3" and "The Italian Job" — would be embarrassing and expensive for Germany.

The high-stakes, high-security plan is to move the precious metal — 374 tons kept in vaults in Paris and 300 tons stored at the New York Federal Reserve Bank — to the Bundesbank in Germany's financial center over the next eight years. For obvious reasons, the central bank won't say whether the estimated 50,000 bars are being moved by air, sea or land or how it intends to keep

the shipments safe. The Bundesbank, which also brought home about 850 tons of gold from London between 1998 and 2001, isn't taking any chances. "Of course the transports are insured," Raasch said.

The cargo unit of Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline, is standing by, ready to handle the job if the central bank calls, spokesman Michael Goentgens said. During the Cold War, Germany kept most of its gold abroad for fear it could fall into the hands of the Soviet Union if the country were invaded. Another reason was to have the precious metal close to the foreign currency markets in London, Paris and New York, where gold is traded. Since France, like Germany, switched to the euro more than a decade ago, storing gold for foreign currency swaps in Paris is no longer necessary, the Bundesbank said. Once the shipment is complete, Frankfurt will hold half of Germany's 3,400 tons of reserve gold

— currently worth about $183 billion — with New York retaining 37 percent and London 13 percent.


LOCAL NEWSWORLD NEWS


LOCAL NEWS

Apple Cuts Orders for iPhone Parts Apple Inc. has cut its component orders for the iPhone 5 because of weaker-than-expected demand, people familiar with the situation said, indicating sales of the latest smartphone haven't been as strong as anticipated.

Apple's orders for iPhone 5 screens for the first quarter, for example, have dropped to roughly half of what the company had planned to order, the people said.

The Cupertino, Calif., company also cut orders for components other than screens, one of the people said.

Apple notified the suppliers of the reduced order last month, the people said.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.The move came as the company has been facing

greater challenges from Samsung Electronics Co. and other makers of smartphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

Apple cut orders for iPhone 5 components on lower-than-expected demand. The WSJ's Juro Osawa talks about whether sales of Apple's latest smartphone are slowing.

Apple has set the agenda for the smartphone market since it released its first iPhone in 2007.

But South Korea's Samsung, which sells Android-based models at various price points, has overtaken the U.S. company as the world's largest smartphone vendor by market share. Demand also is growing for inexpensive smartphones from Chinese makers such as Huawei Technologies Co.

While the popularity of iPhones and iPads has been boosting Apple's earnings and investors'

expectations over the past few years, there have been concerns in recent quarters about how long the growth can continue. Apple's stock, which peaked at about $705.07 in September, was down 3.2% at $503.70 in midday trading Monday in New York.

Apple held 14.6% of world-wide smartphone shipments in the third quarter, down from a peak of 23% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of last year , according to IDC.

Samsung's market share, meanwhile, rose to 31.3% in the third quarter, compared with 8.8% in the third quarter of 2010. The Korean company said this month that it expects to report another record operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year, capping its best year ever amid strong sales of its Galaxy line of smartphones. The company expects an operating profit of between $8.1 billion and $8.5 billion for the quarter.

Analysts continue to cite multiple explanations for a potential trim to orders unrelated to demand, including the ebb of flow of Apple's supply chain and a strong holiday quarter.

Brian Blair, an analyst with Wedge Partners, says order cuts are typical after the holidays. He also noted that Apple uses multiple suppliers for individual parts making across the board cuts difficult to assess.

He estimates that Apple, which reports earnings for the December quarter on Jan. 23, sold 50 million iPhones during the quarter, ahead of average analyst estimates around 47 million.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Alberto Moe, said Apple may have made particularly large iPhone 5 orders to suppliers for the fourth quarter because

of earlier concerns about manufacturing difficulties with some components such as screens.

Citigroup last month lowered its rating for Apple to "neutral" from "buy," citing concerns about cuts to iPhone orders. The brokerage noted that a sharp increase in iPhone 5 production during the fourth quarter may have left Apple with more inventory than expected. Still, it also said that "good not great" demand is likely a factor behind the order cuts.

"It is unlikely that Apple is cutting orders in a 'great' demand environment," Citigroup analysts said in the Dec. 16 report.

The iPhone 5, released in September, represents Apple's effort to maintain its strong position amid intensifying competition. The model comes with a longer, four-inch screen than the 3.5-inch screens in previous iPhone models.

Japan's Sharp Corp., Japan Display Co. and South Korea's LG Display Co. are the three suppliers of the screens, according to people with knowledge of the matter. When the iPhone 5 was introduced, there were concerns that suppliers might not be able to produce enough to keep up with demand.

Apple's cut in orders may affect first-quarter sales of component makers, some of which are largely dependent on the U.S. company. The fact that some iPhone components are highly customized makes it difficult for suppliers to find alternative buyers in a short time frame. Sharp, one of the screen suppliers, has been struggling with a cash crunch and losses from its television-set operations.

Japan's Nikkei reported Monday that Apple has slashed its orders for iPhone 5 components.

American Airlines unveils new logoAmerican Airlines on Thursday unveiled a new logo and plane exterior, the first fleet-wide rebranding since 1968.

Gone are the red, white and blue stripes along the side of the fuselage with an eagle soaring between double 'A'. Instead the tail has red, white and blue stripes and the logo has an updated eagle.

The new look is meant to be light, vibrant and modern, said CEO Tom Horton in a video announcement.

“Since placing our landmark aircraft order in July of 2011, we’ve been building anticipation toward a moment in time when the outside of our aircraft reflects the progress we’ve made to modernize our airline on the inside,” said Horton.

The airline will update its fleet of aircraft, including the new Boeing 777-300ER that is set to fly on Jan. 31.

The new logo is being introduced as American is coming out of more than a year of bankruptcy protection. It's considering whether to merge with US Airways or remain on its own.

"While we complete the evaluation of whether a merger can build on American's strengths, we remain steadfast in each step we take to renew our airline, a step we take with great respect for our name American," said Horton.

The nation's No. 3 carrier by traffic is replacing its 1968 era livery, an aircraft look dominated by polished aluminum and red, white and blue speed stripes running the length of the fuselage, with two

"A"s on the tail, one in red and one in blue, separated

by a stylized blue eagle.Mr. Horton said during the Christmas break

of 2011, he had two 777 models at his home, each bearing a different paint job prepared by FutureBrand, a global brand consulting firm. He said he kept going to look at the two, and the airline, with input from customers and employees, settled on the one unveiled Thursday.

"I am stunned it didn't leak," Mr. Horton said of the new livery. "Airplanes are so big and there are so many amateur photographers" interested in aviation. American Eagle, the company's regional affiliate, and AAdvantage, American's frequent flier program, also will be rebranded. In addition, a new advertising campaign, developed with McCann WorldGroup, rolls out Thursday.

Mr. Horton estimated it will take three to five years to completely switch to the new look, which will include revamping airports and aircraft interiors, bringing in new employee uniforms and redoing the company's website and mobile apps. But he said a big push will occur in 2013 and 2014 to get the planes repainted. Some of the paint work will be outsourced to Leading Edge Aviation Services Inc., a Santa Ana, Calif., company that has a paint shop in Victorville.

Leading Edge has been lifted by airline mergers in recent years, having put nearly 500 Northwest Airlines planes into Delta Air Lines Inc.'s logo after the two combined in 2008. More recently, it has been repainting United Airlines planes into Continental Airlines colors as a result of the 2010 merger that created United Continental Holdings Inc.

Because aircraft manufacturers typically provide an airline's chosen paint job as part of the purchase price, American will be getting a lot of free paint as it takes delivery of hundreds of new aircraft in the coming years. But it also intends to repaint its existing planes that it plans to retain, Mr. Horton said. A 777 paint job can cost $100,000 to $200,000, depending on the number of colors involved, and a smaller Airbus A320 can cost $50,000 or more.

AMR and its creditors currently are weighing whether to merge with US Airways Group Inc. as a way for American to emerge from bankruptcy protection later this year, or whether to step out as an independent company. "While we complete the evaluation of whether a merger can build on American's strengths," Mr. Horton said, "we remain steadfast in each step we take to renew our airline."

In a statement Thursday, US Airways said it applauded American on its new brand elements and livery.

If the two companies were to merge, US Airways could find its planes getting the same look.

American's unions, which have long supported a combination, rained a bit on Mr. Horton's parade Thursday. "A new paint job is fine, but it does not fix American's network deficiencies and toxic culture," said a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 8,000 American pilots. "We continue our steadfast support of a merger with US Airways. American's network needs more than cosmetic changes to compete with Delta and United."


LOCAL NEWSBUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY


LOCAL NEWS NOTICERegulation 7 of the Physical Planning (Development Permission) Regulations, 1990

An application, PR11389, by CAICOS OIL LTD for, FUEL FARM OFFICE BUILDING, 10FT FENCE AND ANCILLARY SERVICES has been submitted to the Department of Planning for consideration of Detailed Development Permission and Building Permit on 60514/8 FIVE CAYS & NORWAY Providenciales.

Anyone wishing to make representation(s) may do so in writing to the director of planning, south base, Grand Turk or through the department of planning, downtown, town center mall, Providenciales, within twenty eight (28) days of publication of this notice.

DATED: JANUARY 3rd, 2013

IS HIRING AN ASSISTANT MANAGER‘REPORTING DIRECTLY TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY’

SUMMARY OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Oversee ALL of the day-to-day managerial functions: maintain the integrity of the online gaming system; assure compliance of the rules and regulations of the government, the company and the industry; prepares budgets - operating, marketing and special projects; ensure adequate staffing – hire, train, evaluate and discipline; procure and ensure adequate inventory of operating supplies; identify and coordinate employees’/customers’/third parties’/suppliers’ and vendors’ special events; project manager of special projects; interface with external forces on behalf of the directors; coordinate and provide the company’s directors with operational reports

TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Online Gaming System Management • In-depth understanding of the Gaming Industry• Ability to develop and implement budgets• Ability to make crucial/good business decisions• Strong understanding of Human Resource Management• Strong understanding of Third Parties Relationships• Strong understanding of Customer Service Satisfaction• Results Driven - Ability to Prioritize and complete multiple tasks within specified timeframes• Excellent communication skills; written and verbal • Excellent interpersonal skills • Problem Solver (Conflict resolution management)

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Proficient knowledge of the FML Group of Companies’ Online Gaming Operating System; or a ‘comparable’ Online Gaming Operating System

• At least eight (8) to ten (10) years experience in Business Management with particular focus on:

- Development and implementation of budgets- Coordination and preparation of Reports- Employees Management (not less than a team of (ten) 10 persons)- Customer Service Satisfaction Management- Conflict Resolution Management

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• An unblemished character (substantiated by at least three verifiable references)• A professional demeanor with a pleasant personality• Excellent interpersonal skills• Self motivated and adherent to timelines• Respect for authorities, peers and subordinates

Interested persons should contact 941-5763

BUTTERFIELD GOLD GROUP OF COMPANIESPOSITIONS AVAILABLE

One (1) Chief Financial OfficerJOB DESCRIPTION

The CFO will be responsible for the overall management of the company's financial and accounting requirements and assist with Human Resources, particularly where it relates to the staffing of the Finance Department.

A bachelor’s degree in accounting, with coursework in business law is required. (CMA preferred)Minimum of 8 years professional experienceExperience in Internal Control, Finance & AccountingMust have experience with recurring revenue business model and knowledge of FASB/GAAP reporting requirements with regard to deferred revenue.Experience as a senior manager in a rapidly growing companyProven ability to maintain credibility and confidence level with bank and/or vendors/suppliersThe applicant is able to demonstrated knowledge and experience in establishing and working with staff benefits, including staff investments and savings schemes.Experience with selection and implementation of accounting and billing systemsExperience negotiating and managing business contracts and compliance with customer privacy lawExperience in multiple company/location environmentMust a have solid knowledge of Excel and/or Lotus 123 and ability to do complex forecasting.Knowledge of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions/QuickBooks would be an asset.

Emoluments based on qualifications and experience.

Submit applications to by January 24, 2013 to:Butterfield Gold Ltd.,Human Resource DepartmentTown Center MallProvidencialesTel: 649-946-4211

SALON DE MARINASEEKS Shanda Restaurant seeks 3 Hairdressers 3 WaitressesSalary $5.00 per hour 2 Domestic Workers

Interested persons must be hardworking and reliableContact 244-0979


LOCAL NEWS


LOCAL NEWSCARIBBEAN SPORTS

Carl Hooper denies interest in Bangladesh head coach job

ADELAIDE, Australia - Former West Indies cricket captain Carl Hooper says he has no interest in becoming the next head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team.

Hooper was reacting to claims by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) media committee chairman Jalal Yunus that he was one of those interested in taking up the offer.

However, Hooper, who coaches Woodville Peckers in the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) says those claims are inaccurate and that the statement should be retracted.

"I was asked if I was interested, said I wasn't and that was the last I heard of it," Hooper explained.

"I was hoping Bangladesh would retract what

they have apparently said that I was 'interested in the job'. I have not applied and I am not interested. I am happy at Woodville."

The cricket website ESPNcricinfo has reported that Hooper's agent had contacted the BCB.

However, Hooper said he would rather be interested in other options, especially because he would always put his family first in such matters.

"I know there are a few things that might come up in South Australia or the Caribbean. My kids are settled here so I want to stay here if I can,” said the West Indies legend.

"There's a lot of stuff in the air with SACA [South Australia Cricket Association] and the clubs. I always put my family first. That is why the Bangladesh thing is so far-fetched."

Zimbabwe expects tough series in the Caribbean

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Coach Alan Butcher says he is anticipating a tough series when Zimbabwe cricketers arrive in the Caribbean for their four- week tour next month.

Butcher says the West Indies are playing some of the best cricket at the moment and therefore the tour represents a challenge for Zimbabwe to prove they can play good cricket on the road.

Zimbabwe’s tour, February 22nd to March 20th, comprises two Tests, three One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals.

“At home we have done well but it is the results away from home which remain worrying,” said Butcher who has played only one test match for England.

“It is going to be a tough tour to West Indies. They are playing good cricket at the moment. Our players have to stand up, show some character, perform well enough, play positive and confident cricket”.

Zimbabwe has not included former national team captain Elton Chigumbura for their Caribbean tour.

The all rounder was omitted from a 24-man training squad after selectors ran out of patience due to the player’s recurrent poor form.

"Leaving out Elton Chigumbura was a tough decision because while on paper he balances the squad he has not put up a good enough performance to remain in the team," said Butcher, who has decided not to apply for the job as coach when his contract expires in March.

“It now gives another player an opportunity to claim that all rounder spot”.

The 24-man squad goes into camp in Harare February 4 with the team set to leave for West Indies on February 16

Man who threw bottle at Usain Bolt convicted

A man who threw a plastic beer bottle on the track and shouted abuse at Usain Bolt before the men's 100-metre final at the London Olympics has been convicted of public disorder.

A London court on Friday found Ashley Gill-Web, who suffers from bipolar disorder, guilty of threatening, abusive or disorderly behaviour.

District Judge William Ashworth told Stratford Magistrates' Court that Gill-Webb's actions were

"rational and wrong" and intended to cause distress.The case was adjourned until February 4 for

sentencing. Bolt, who won the gold medal in 9.63 seconds, said after the race that he hadn't noticed the incident.

The 34-year-old Gill-Web, who lives in the northern city of Leeds, reportedly used an old ticket to get into the Olympic Stadium.

Sarwan returns for Australia ODIsSt. JOHN’S, Antigua, Wednesday January 16, 2013 – West Indies selectors have recalled experienced batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for next month’s limited overs tour of Australia.

The 32-year-old right hander has not played for West Indies in nearly 19 months owing to poor form and fitness, and a strained relationship with the regional authorities.

He joins a 15-man squad that will be led by Darren Sammy and which includes young uncapped Barbadian seamer Jason Holder.

The tour runs from January 29 to February 13 and comprises five One-Day Internationals and a single Twenty20. SQUAD – Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice captain), Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan,

Devon Thomas, Tino Best Jason Holder, Sunil Narine.

Usain Bolt

Ramnaresh Sarwan


LOCAL NEWS

Grace Bay Club is looking for candidates that have the requirements listed along with an outgoing professional manner. They love to work with different types of people, meet challenges with a positive attitude and live the standards of our organization. Their man-agement style is one that balances a commitment to people and their development with business/financial accountability and delivers an exceptional guest experience

KITCHEN STEWARD Job Requirements:• Washes dishes, utensils and cookware following established procedures• Place clean dishes, utensils, and cooking equipment in storage areas.• Maintain kitchen work areas, equipment, and utensils in clean and orderly condition.• Assists in performing cleaning tasks as needed in the kitchen• Assists the cook(s) with food preparation as requestedBelongers need only to apply. Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Laundry Attendant Job Requirements: • Folds and places item in appropriate storage area.• Sorts torn and stained articles.• Sorts dried articles according to type.• Loads articles into washer and adds specified amount of detergent, soap or other cleaning.• Operates laundry machinery such as washers, driers and ironers.• Lifts clean, wet articles from washer and places them successively into driers for measures time cycles.• Soaks contaminated articles and processes in de-staining cycle.• Iron and fold dried clothes and deploy to the designated rooms or areas. Belongers need only apply.Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Bartender Job Requirements:• Applicant is a minimum of 19 years of age; fluent in written and spoken English• Possess a High School Certificate.• Have two years experience as a Bartender, or one year as a Bar back in a five star-ho-tel upscale environment.• Perform specified Bartender duties, including food and drink orders, preparation, and serving.• Direct and assist the Bar back and beverage servers.• Follow specific cash and system handling procedures.• Be responsible in the serving of alcohol and the laws and regulations surrounding it.• Maintain ongoing knowledge of the hotel operations.• Maintain the cleanliness, working order, and presentation of the bar top, tables, ser-vice areas and outlet itself.Qualified Belongers need only apply.Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Restaurant Manager Job Requirements:• Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management• At least 3-4 years experience as a Restaurant Manager in a luxury hotel/resort/club• Experience in quality and efficiency initiatives• International and multi-outlet experience• Ability to lead, train and organize team to deliver superb guest experience• Ability to manager budget and understand how P&L is prepared.• Knowledge of health and sanitation standards• Be able to prepare staff schedules, timesheets and have knowledge of Macros, Excel and WindowsQualified Belongers need only apply.Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Director of Finance Job Requirements & Qualifications:• Recognized Accountancy Qualification, ACA/ACCA/CIMA/CPA• 5 to 10 years post qualification experience.• Experience in running the finance function in a luxury hotel/resort/club.• Considerable people management experience.• Excellent knowledge of hotel accounting software.• Advanced mathematical and accounting concepts• Analyzing and interpreting general business periodicals, professional journals and governmental regulations.• Coordinates and manages the Business Planning and Forecasting process in conjunc-tion with the General Manager and Department Heads.• Supervises the timely preparation and distribution of Financial Statements and Operating Reports in conjunction with Corporate and Owner guidelines including cash flow statements Qualified Belongers need only to applySalary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Cook Job Requirements:• Middle level culinary skills• Dependable, proactive, organized, team player with Education from a formal culi-nary program• At least two to three years cooking experience; preparing international breakfast, lunch and dinner in regional cooking environment and have a Sanitation certificate• Ability to plan, organize and execute meal plans• Must speak and read English fluently with additonal languges an assetQualified Belongers need only to applySalary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Spa Therapists Job Requirements:• Grace Bay Club is looking for a Massage Therapist/Esthetician who is an enthusias-tic team player with excellent customer service.• The therapist will be responsible for administering professional facial, massage and body treatments to our guests.• Must have a thorough knowledge of the skin with numerous massage modalities.• Must possess a general understanding of body treatments and be willing to train in

our spa’s specific facial, massage and body treatment offerings.• Must possess excellent communication skills and be able to learn the product and service knowledge necessary to effectively provide wellness solutions to meet the needs of our guests.• The Therapist will be required to properly care for equipment, perform prep work, clean and restock spa rooms• Assist in all areas of the spa operation as requested by Supervisors or coaches.• Be flexible with your schedule, supporting the needs of the spa.• Build respectful and cooperative relationships with colleagues and leaders.• He/she must maintain the standards of Grace Bay as found in the standard operating procedures of the department, and as they are amended from time to time.Education and Experience:• Secondary level education is required. Good writing, reading, listening and basic computation skills are necessary.• Previous experience in a 5 star spa is required.• International qualifications (or qualifications equivalent to international standards) are required in Esthetics and Massage Therapy. Qualified Belongers need only apply.Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Group Director of People Development Job Requirements To be responsible for the centralized Human Resources Department for Grace Bay Re-sorts by overseeing HR and Training strategies for all properties from an operational and strategic standpoint. The successful candidate will work directly with the company’s senior management team, to develop and implement strategic long range initiatives that will support the growth of the Grace Bay Resorts Brand.The successful candidate must meet the following qualifications and experience:• 10+ years experience in a Senior Human Resource Role within the Hospitality Sector• 10+ years experience in the Luxury Market, in Hotels, Resorts or Cruise Line In-dustries• College or University degree in Human Resource Management or equivalent years of experience.• Caribbean experience considered definite plus.• 3+ years overseeing multi-unit Human Resources Departments within an organiza-tion.• Certified in “Talent Plus” or other recognized psycho-metric testing tool that enables you to conduct certification tests and benchmark talent.• Experience in Kronos set up and implementation. Ability to use Kronos as an HRIS and payroll tool to manage payroll, time & attendance, disciplinary action, employee wage and labor costs.• Extensive knowledge in Training & Development, conducting Needs Analysis, de-signing, developing and facilitating training programs that meet the company’s strategic needs.• Extensive knowledge in writing company P & P’s and SOP’s and developing com-pany Brand Standards.• Previous demonstrated experience in Conflict Resolution, and Employee Relations• Previous demonstrated experience in designing compensation models that attract and retain the best qualified talent for Grace Bay Resorts.• Previous experience recruiting and selecting top notch industry professionals at all levels of the organization.• Ability to determine appropriate staffing levels based on forecasted revenues, to opti-mize the balance between desired profitability, guest demands and employee satisfaction.• Ideal candidate will be a “strategic thinker”, skilled at identifying company develop-ment opportunities as it relates to policies, processes and standards• New Hotel Opening experience considered a definite asset.Qualified Belongers need only apply.Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Group Chef N B /Food & Beverage Director Job Requirements (Chef N B) to be responsible for overall Food & Beverage and Culinary Operations for Grace Bay Resorts by overseeing concepts for front and back of house operations, creat-ing total guest experiences. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in achieving food & beverage revenues, profit and guests satisfaction goals by develop-ing and implementing menu designs and concepts that are current with international and local trends, ensuring that the Grace Bay Resorts are culinary Destinations.The successful candidate must meet the following qualifications and experience:• 10+ years experience in a Senior Culinary Role, either as Executive Chef or Culinary Director.• Extensive culinary skills, with exposure and intimate knowledge of international cuisines and food trends.• Educated in Culinary Management, Food & Beverage Management, Restaurant Management and 5 Diamond requirements• International Hotel and Restaurant experience a must.• Caribbean experience considered a definite plus.• As an Executive Committee Member, work closely with the company’s senior management team to develop and implement strategies for food & beverage and kitchen operations that support achievement of the company’s goals.• Oversees the inventory, purchasing and disbursement of all supplies, while main-taining strong P&L statements. • Extensive experience overseeing multiple food & beverage units simultaneously, while driving revenue. • Ability to “think outside of the box” as it relates to menu design, concepts, trends and culinary events and to create the “WOW” factor for entertaining VIP guests.• Demonstrated experience overseeing and developing exceptional Front and Back of House teams to meet and exceed guest expectation, revenue generation and employee satisfaction.• Ideal candidate will be a “strategic thinker”, skilled at identifying company devel-opment opportunities as it relates to overall food & beverage strategies and growth of the Brand.• New Hotel Opening experience considered a definite asset. Qualified Belongers need only to applySalary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Interested persons can contact our Human Resources Department no later than January 28th 2013 @ (649) 946-5050 Ext. 1050 | Fax: (649) 946-5758 | Email: [email protected]

P.O. Box 128 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, British West Indies

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AT GRACE BAY


LOCAL NEWSWORLD SPORTS

Lance Armstrong confesses to years of doping

The 41-year-old confessed during his interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey in front of a worldwide television audience.

“I view this situation as one big lie I repeated a lot of times,” he said. “I made those decisions, they were my mistake and I’m here to say sorry.”

However the American denied it was “sport’s biggest doping programme”, saying “it was smart, but it was conservative, risk averse”.

The interview with Winfrey, 58, was broadcast on prime time television on her OWN network in America, and was streamed worldwide through her website.

The tens of millions watching saw Armstrong reveal:

•he took performance-enhancing drugs in each of his Tour wins from 1999-2005 •doping was “part of the process required to win the Tour” •he did not feel he was cheating at the time and viewed it as a “level playing field”

•he did not fear getting caught •“all the fault and blame” should lie with him

•he was a bully who “turned on” people he did not like

•his cancer fight in the mid-1990s gave him a “win-at-all costs” attitude

•he would now co-operate with official inquiries into doping in cycling

In response the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) called for Armstrong to detail “under oath” the full extent of his doping.

Cycling’s governing body the UCI welcomed Armstrong’s decision “to come clean and confess”, and said the interview had confirmed it was not part of a “collusion or conspiracy”. Last year Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France titles after being labelled a “serial cheat” by Usada. In a detailed report, the body said he led “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme sport has ever seen”.

The Texan decided not to contest the charges, saying last year he was tired of fighting the allegations. He had always strongly denied doping.

That all changed within seconds of an explosive opening to the interview when Winfrey, one of America’s top chat show hosts, demanded yes or no answers.

“Did you ever take banned substances to enhance cycling performance?”

“Yes.” “Was one of those substances EPO?” “Yes.” “Did you use any other banned substances?” “Yes.” In the interview, broadcast on the Discovery

Channel in the UK, Armstrong then admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs Erythropoietin (EPO), testosterone, cortisone and human growth hormone as well as having blood transfusions.

He continued: “All the fault and blame is on me and a lot of that is momentum and I lost myself in all that. I couldn’t handle it. The story is so bad and toxic and a lot of it is true.”

Asked if doping was part of the process required to win the Tour, he said: “That’s like saying we have to have air in our tyres or water in our bottles. It was part of the job.

“I don’t want to make any excuses, but that was my view and I made those decisions.”

In a key exchange Winfrey asked: “Did it feel wrong?

Armstrong replied: “No. Scary.” “Did you feel bad?” “No. Even scarier.” “Did you feel that you were cheating?” “No. The scariest.” Armstrong continued: “The definition of a cheat

is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe. I didn’t view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field. I didn’t understand the magnitude of that. The important thing is that I’m beginning to understand it.

“I see the anger in people, betrayal. It’s all there. People who believed in me and supported me and they have every right to feel betrayed and it’s my fault and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologise to people.”

LeBron youngest to reach

20,000 pointsLeBron James became the youngest player to reach 20,000 career points on Wednesday, picking up 25 in Miami's 92-75 win over the Golden State Warriors.

"It means a lot," James, aged 28 years and 17 days, told reporters. "I've been blessed to be able to stay healthy and play a lot of games. I'm grateful to have

team mates to help me accomplish the feat."

James took the record from the LA Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who was 29 years and 122 days when he reached 20,000 points.

James also pitched in with 10 assists and seven rebounds against the Warriors, surpassing the 5,000 career assist mark during the first quarter.

Lance Armstrong has ended years of denials by admitting he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins.

On whether it was the biggest doping programme in sport he said: “I didn’t have access to anything that anybody else didn’t.

“Winning races mattered for me but to say that programme was bigger than the East German doping programme of ‘70s and ‘80s is wrong.”

Armstrong said his battle with cancer in the mid-1990s turned him into a “fighter”.

“Before my diagnosis I was a competitor but not a fierce competitor,” he said. “I took that ruthless win-at-all-costs attitude into cycling which was bad.”

Armstrong denied riders had to comply to a doping programme to compete for his US Postal Service/Discovery Channel team, but admitted his personality could imply that.

He said: “Yes, I was a bully. I was a bully in the sense that I tried to control the narrative and if I didn’t like what someone said I turned on them.

“We felt like we had our backs against the wall and I was a fighter.” Armstrong said he had not been afraid of getting caught. “Testing has evolved. Back then they didn’t come to your house and there was no testing out of competition and for most of my career there wasn’t that much out-of-competition testing so you’re not going to get caught because you clean up for the races.

“I didn’t fail a test. Retrospectively, I failed one. The hundreds of tests I took I passed them.” However, he did admit that he received a back-dated therapeutic user exemption certificate for a cream containing steroids at the 1999 Tour to ensure he did not test positive.

Armstrong retired from cycling in 2005 but returned to the sport between 2009 and 2012.

He told Winfrey that he did not use drugs after his return to the sport. “That’s the only thing in that whole Usada report that really upset me,” he said.

Lance Amstrong


LOCAL NEWSWORLD SPORTS

Manchester United and Arsenal Advance in F.A. Cup

Manchester United and Arsenal survived tough matches in the F.A. Cup, on Wednesday, each winning, 1-0, and advancing to the fourth round. United relied on an early goal from Wayne Rooney, who played his first game in three weeks after a knee injury, to squeeze past West Ham at Old Trafford and earn a match against Fulham. Arsenal scored late at Emirates Stadium; Jack Wilshere hit an 86th-minute winner to knock out Swansea. Brighton is next for Arsenal. In the Premier League, Chelsea squandered a two-goal lead, 2-2, at Stamford Bridge, with Southampton’s Jason

Puncheon scoring the tying goal. Ignacio Camacho scored in the 90th minute, giving Málaga a 2-2 tie at Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal. Lionel Messi had tied the game at 1-1 with his 38th goal of the season. He has scored in the last 13 games he has started.

¶ Rennes beat visiting Montpellier, 2-0, to reach the French League Cup final and stay on course for its first major trophy in 42 years. ... Mattia Destro scored in the seventh minute of overtime, lifting Roma over Fiorentina, 1-0, and into an Italian Cup quarterfinal against Inter Milan.

South Africa secure series win over New ZealandPORT ELIZABETH, South Africa - South Africa completed a 2-0 series win over New Zealand on Monday after thumping the visitors by an innings and 193 runs on the fourth day of the second test.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn claimed innings figures of three for 48 and match figures of eight for 65, as New Zealand were bowled out for 211 in their second innings half an hour before lunch.

New Zealand also lost the first test by an innings after they were bowled out for 45 before lunch on the opening day.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith said that he had been pleased by the standard of cricket his team had played over the series as they strengthened their position as the world's top-ranked test nation.

"We've had to work hard to get into this position and it's nice to keep playing well and it's been a wonderful two test matches for us," Smith said at the post-match presentation.

"They (the wins) were very professional and both were very big wins. A lot of guys contributed and I thought our style of cricket and the way we played was good. Bar a couple of dropped catches in the first test I thought our cricket was of a very high standard.

Dean Brownlie and BJ Watling provided the bulk of New Zealand's runs with a 98-run fifth wicket partnership.

Brownlie brought up his fourth test fifty but after making his way to 53 off 141 balls he edged a delivery from Jacques Kallis to keeper AB de Villiers.

Watling, one of the few positives the Black Caps could take out of the series, recorded his second half-century of the match, scoring 63 off 117 balls with 11 boundaries before he was bowled by a superb delivery from Steyn that pegged back the batsman's off-stump.

Brownlie's dismissal left New Zealand on 182 for five and the advent of the second new ball brought about the departure of Colin Munro (15) 21 runs later when the left-hander was caught at third slip off a delivery from paceman Morne Morkel.

Steyn followed up Watling's dismissal by having Doug Bracewell (0) caught by a diving Alviro Petersen at third slip before Morkel got Trent Boult (3) caught at point.

Steyn wrapped the series up by having Neil Wagner (4) caught by De Villiers.

New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum

conceded his team had been inferior to the Proteas. "We knew coming in to this series that is was going

to be tough playing against the number one side in the world.

We will learn a lot of lessons from this. We were well short of the mark and we were exposed.

"We wanted to come here and compete...but South Africa showed their class and we weren't quite up to the mark," he said.

New Zealand start

Championship Defence

in Sydney New Zealand will begin the defence of their Rugby Championship crown against Australia in Sydney on August 17, organisers said on Tuesday.

The World Cup-winning All Blacks will then host the Wallabies in Wellington before facing Argentina in Hamilton and South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland.

They finish their campaign on the road, firstly taking on Argentina before moving on to Johannesburg to face the Springboks on October 5. Argentina, who lost five matches and drew one in their tournament debut last year, will again begin their campaign away to South Africa before hosting the Springboks the following week.

SANZAR Ceo Greg Peters said the inclusion of Argentina into the expanded Tri-Nations had been a success.

"A total of over 16 million viewers tuned into the 12 tests of the Rugby Championship and an average of 44,000 attended the matches, which saw stadiums at 91 percent capacity," the New Zealander said.

"The first round of action, with the Wallabies playing the All Blacks in Sydney, and the Springboks hosting the Pumas in Bloemfontein, will have added spice considering the last time each of these two nations played - the result was an 18-18 and 16-16 draw respectively."

SENIOR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER

InterHealth Canada seeks a SENIOR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER to supervise the maintenance of medical equipment at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre and Cockburn Town Medical Centre.

Base Requirements: (not exhaustive)Qualifications: (a) Degree or diploma level qualification in biomedical engineering or similar acceptable discipline.(b) Proof of significant certification of maintenance competency on a wide range of equipment as validated by manufacturers’ certificates.(c) Membership of a professional biomedical engineering institute would be an advantage.Experience: (a) Proven experience in a wide range of medical equipment maintenance (b) Troubleshooting abilities in imaging and laboratory units – equipment is serviced / maintained by vendor but we require base diagnostics abilities and the ability to check / act under instruction from vendor / manufacturer engineers from outside the island.(c) Proven supervisory or management skills (d) Proven experience in management of databases pertaining to scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.(e) Strong knowledge of maintenance of dialysis systems including RO plants(f) Strong knowledge of maintenance of medical device reprocessing systems (CSSD)

Role:(a) Take the lead role in the management and maintenance of medical equipment across the two centres collectively making up the Turks & Caicos Islands Hospital(b) Actively performs biomedical engineering services to ensure all units are well maintained – this is a ‘hands on’ position.(c) Ensure all maintenance record keeping is up to date. This is in conjunction with the executive assistant to the General Manager of Facilities Management Services.(d) Advise management of issues arising or likely to arise and proactively work towards the prevention of all avoidable downtime.(e) Maintain good working relationships with vendors and service suppliers(f) Work with the Human Resources department in order to ensure visas etc. are ready and available for all engineers attending the hospital for maintenance of repair services.(g) Ensure that end user staff are versed on signs of problems occurring and that they are briefed on the action to take to ensure rapid attention from the biomedical engineering department(h) Supervise the work of the second biomedical engineer on siteOther:(a) Based at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre on Providenciales but also responsible for services to Cockburn Town Medical Centre on Grand Turk. Work at Grand Turk may require stays on island of one or more days, including occasional weekends. (b) Local air travel and accommodation whilst on duty at Grand Turk provided by company.

Salary: Negotiable, commensurate with qualifications and experience.Apply in writing together with an up to date curriculum vitae to: [email protected] DATE: 25th January 2013

Wayne Rooney


LOCAL NEWS

poster.indd 1 1/17/13 3:02 PM


LOCAL NEWS

Published by SUN MEDIA GROUP, Turks and caicos Islands | Tel:649 946 8542 | Fax: 649 941 3281

volume 9 issue 2

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