Month: April 2013

News

PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON URGED TO ACT OVER BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

Post author By Cem Kınay
Post date 6 April 2013

British PM urged to act over British Virgin Islands
Published on April 6, 2013

Road Town, British Virgin Islands. Wikimedia/Captain-tucker

By Caribbean News Now contributor

LONDON, England — Britain’s prime minister David Cameron has come under pressure to act against the secretive offshore industry at June’s G8 summit, as leaked evidence continued to mount that politicians and tycoons from all over the world have used the British Virgin Islands to hide funds.

The premier of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili, was the latest to be named, along with prominent Pakistani, Indian, Thai and Indonesian figures – while there was fresh evidence of Britons acting as front directors for companies based in offshore havens such as the BVI, the Guardian newspaper reported.

A senior Liberal Democrat figure said the leaks showed the secret haven of the BVI “stains the face of Britain”, as anti-corruption campaigners called for action.

“How can David Cameron keep a straight face calling for the G8 to make big business pay tax when we let the BVI use British law and British protection to suck in billions in dirty money?” said Lord Oakeshott, a former Treasury spokesman.

“How much British aid paid to corrupt countries like Pakistan ends up behind a BVI brass plate?” he asked.

Robert Palmer of the campaign group Global Witness repeated the call for Cameron to act, saying, “The massive cache of leaked documents demonstrates how hidden ownership of shell companies facilitates corruption, tax dodging and other crimes.”

He added, “The time to deal with this issue is now. Given that he has pledged to tackle these secretive shell companies at this year’s G8 summit in Northern Ireland, he and his fellow leaders must commit to publishing information on the people who ultimately control and own companies.”

The names of thousands of owners of secret offshore companies are currently being published by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in collaboration with the Guardian and other international media.

This follows the leak to ICIJ of a hard drive containing 200GB of internal files of offshore incorporation agencies in the BVI, Singapore and the Cook Islands.

Tags Anti Corruption, British Virgin Islands, BVI, Change for Turks and Caicos Islands, david cameron, Dellis Cay, Democracy for turks and Caicos islands, G8, governor todd, Grand Turk, Offshore, politics in turks and caicos islands, Providenciales, providenciales turks and caicos islands, turks and caicos, Turks and Caicos islands, UK Foreign Office, UK Overseas territories, UK Premier

News

PDM AND MR.BUTCH STEWART

Post author By Cem Kınay
Post date 5 April 2013

PDM Refuses Allegations that it is involved in bring another newspaper to the TCI
Published in TCI Post on 05th April

Rather than being flattered that we the PDM would be mistaken for the party in power (why else would Butch Stewart hitch his business wagon to us?), we feel compelled to set the record straight concerning the blatant, misguided article that claims we are working in tandem to bring another newspaper here.
As the ill informed article so rightly pointed out (the only correct statement in the entire piece), such a move will not bring jobs for our people. The PDM has a record of championing employment for the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
We categorically denounce any and all claims. This smacks of smear tactics pure and simple. The election is over. We wish to move forward as a people and as a party that is united.
The Peoples’ Democratic Movement

News

Carnival Cruise Port Grand Turk To Reopen April 8

Post author By Cem Kınay
Post date 4 April 2013

Grand Turk Cruise Centre to re-open April 8
Published on April 5, 2013
The Turks and Caicos Tourist Board has announced that cruise ship calls to the Grand Turk Cruise Centre will commence on April 8, 2013.

The Board, which has been working in close collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders as well as the local public health department, said it is confident that all measures have been taken to ensure the health and safety of visitors.

The cruise sector, which accounts for a majority of visitors to the Turks and Caicos Islands, is a vital cog in the tourism industry of Grand Turk and the Board said it is cognizant of the impact that the cancellation of cruise ship visits may have exerted on the businesses and residents of the Island.

Ralph Higgs, Director of the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board
Commenting, Ralph Higgs, director of the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, said, “Throughout this situation, we continued an open dialogue with the most senior executives involved in the ports operation. We understand the severity of the impact of the cancellation of cruise ship visits not only to the local business community of Grand Turk but to those guests who have selected to visit our shores via cruise line. Moving forward, the government feels confident that all the appropriate measures are in place and that Grand Turk will continue to provide the vacation opportunity of a lifetime to our visiting guests.”

Tags Carnival Cruises, Carnival port, Carnival Port Grand Turk, Grand Turk, Providenciales, providenciales turks and caicos islands, Ralph Higgs, turks and caicos, Turks and Caicos islands, Turks and Caicos Tourist board

News

Mr.Butch Stewart

Post author By Cem Kınay
Post date 4 April 2013

Threesome Governor Todd/Butch Stewart/PDM
Published in TCI Post on 04.04.2013

As many readers may have noticed the Jamaican Observer a newspaper owned and operated by Butch Stewart has in the last few months begun publishing lots of articles about events in the TCI.
I’ve thought was very strange and unusual so I decided to do digging.
I reliably informed that Butch Stewart was granted a licence by the relevant authorities to start a newspaper in the Turks and Caicos specifically Provo.
An inside source with knowledge of the proposed operations informed me that the Governor/the Brits and Mr. Butch Stewart were/are not at all pleased with the coverage they have been receiving from the local media (all forms) so they have decided that the best way to get their spin out there is to open a newspaper in TCI.
It is also alleged that the Hon. Shawn Astwood (with the blessing of Hon. Sharlene Cartwright, Leader of the Opposition) worked closely with Mr. Stewart to get the necessary licenses for the operation.
To those who are thinking this venture will provide jobs for TCIs, think again as we all know Butch Stewart hires Jamaicans first and I’m guessing that all the work for this newspaper will be done in Jamaica.

Tags Beaches, beaches resort, Butch Stewart, Change for Turks and Caicos Islands, Dellis Cay, Democracy for turks and Caicos islands, governor todd, Grand Turk, Jamaica, Jamaican Observer, politics in turks and caicos islands, Providenciales, providenciales turks and caicos islands, turks and caicos, Turks and Caicos islands

News

Carnival Cruise Center in Grand Turk Is Still Not Open

Post author By Cem Kınay
Post date 3 April 2013

Grand Turk losing millions
Published on April 3, 2013,in TCI News Now

Grand Turk’s economy has lost millions of dollars in economic activity as a result of the recent outbreak of gastroenteritis at the cruise port, which is owned by the Carnival Corporation.

Almost three weeks have elapsed since cruise ships discontinued berthing at the facility for fear of passengers disembarking on the island contracting the virus. The outbreak also appears to be spreading to the rest of the island, as more residents are reportedly coming down with the sickness.

The health department and tourist board have issued press releases describing their efforts in attempting to isolate and contain the outbreak. One possible source of the outbreak is thought to be in the water supply; however, this theory has not been proven as public health authorities wait on test results.

Problems with the sewage system at the cruise port are another possible cause and sources on Grand Turk report that a recently commenced excavation of the sewage system has been covered by temporary posts and plastic cloth. Security guards are posted, keeping locals from coming close to the site.

What appears to have happened is that gray water effluent is being contaminated by the sewage system.

The latest estimate for completion of the repairs and sanitization is another seven to ten days. It is understood that Carnival executives will be arriving on Wednesday or Thursday to meet with Premier Rufus Ewing and be interviewed on a Radio Turks and Caicos broadcast.

One concerned resident of Grand Turk said that the situation on that island is worsening as cruise ships were the only thing that kept the island advancing, noting that it would be a big setback for Grand Turk if the situation persists.

Carnival Corporation has been plagued with a number of unfortunate incidents over the past two years. In December 2011, the Costa Concordia capsized in the Mediterranean, while just a few months ago an engine failure resulted in one its cruise ships losing all power in the Gulf of Mexico.

Carnival has a number of ports of call throughout the Caribbean and is developing attractions in neighbouring Dominican Republic; however, the Grand Turk cruise centre has enjoyed a steady increase over the years since its opening in 2004.

The TCI government relies on Carnival’s head tax to help meet its budgetary obligations with over $3 million in annual receipts coming from arriving passengers. It is estimated that the economic impact for Grand Turk is some $250,000 per day in activity.

The cruise port has been hosting six to eight ship arrivals per week. The ships each carry between 2,500 and 3,500 passengers and it is believed that 90 percent of the passengers disembark the ship and visit the welcome centre. Approximately 20 percent of the passengers take taxis to visit other sites on the capital island.