Turks and Caicos Post Cabinet Meeting Statement
His Excellency the Governor, Dr John Freeman, chaired the meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, 31 January 2018, at the Hon. Hilly Ewing Building on Providenciales.
All Ministers were present.
At this meeting Cabinet:
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received a presentation on the review of the statutory bodies by Mr Stephen Turnbull. Cabinet agreed to consider and review the recommendations in Mr Turnbull’s consolidated report at its next meeting
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noted the financial performance of the TCI Government for the period October – December 2017 as reported by the Accountant General in the 3rd Quarter Financial Report 2017/18 submitted in accordance with Section 36 of the Public Finance Management Ordinance 2012
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received a presentation by the Hon. Attorney General on a bill to amend the Firearms Ordinance which would be finalised for referral to the House of Assembly
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advised His Excellency the Governor to grant a licence, subject to certain conditions being met, to Digicel (Turks and Caicos) Limited to install underground telecommunications fibre optic network cables along sections of road reserves in Providenciales and Grand Turk to enable the company to repair and improve its telecommunications infrastructure in TCI following damage caused by September’s hurricanes
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advised His Excellency the Governor to approve an Immigration and Labour Protocol between TCIG and the Desarollos Hotelco TCI Ltd in relation to the development of a luxury branded hotel at Grace Bay on Providenciales
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approved the Alternative Education Policy paper as the official document to govern alternative education for students in TCI who are deemed “at risk” or who have behavioural difficulties subject to the provision of resources to implement the policy
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rejected a submission by Charisma University to use the Accreditation Commission for Colleges on Medicine (ACCM) to conduct the accreditation of the Charisma School of Medicine in TCI and endorsed the established procedure to be followed for licensing and accreditation of medical schools in TCI
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noted additional international awards that have been granted to students who were initially denied scholarships due to insufficient funding being available but who are now eligible for awards following additional funds being identified
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approved amending the Community College Ordinance to enable the granting of Bachelor Degrees by the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College
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approved a proposal for a peppercorn lease agreement for ROM Group, Higgs Plaza, to provide free temporary accommodation for three months for the Bottle Creek Clinic on North Caicos whose original property was severely damaged following Hurricane Irma
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received a presentation by the Hon. Minister for Tourism, Environment, Culture, Heritage and Gaming on a proposed draft Gaming Control Bill. Cabinet sought clarification on certain aspects of the draft Bill and agreed that that draft Bill should be put out to public consultation following which it would be returned to Cabinet for further consideration
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received an information paper from the Hon. Minister of Finance, Investment and Trade updating Cabinet on progress on the Vision 2040 Document and the Medium Term Development Strategy project
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noted the recommendations of the Procurement Board to award contracts in line with the Public Procurement Ordinance 2012 as follows – TR17/10 Police vehicles; TR17/13 K9 vehicle for the police; TR17/20 Electronic teaching aids and software; TR17/27 Fencing project, South Dock, Providenciales
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received an up-date by the Hon. Minister of Health, Agriculture, Sport and Human Services on progress to recruit a Chief Executive Officer and a Chief Financial Officer of the National Health Insurance Board (NHIB). Cabinet discussed the continuing problems at the NHIB and called for a paper in advance of the next meeting of Cabinet setting out options to address the management of the NHIB
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Her Excellency the Deputy Governor informed Cabinet of the process and deadlines for ITTs and tenders to be submitted by departments. She further up-dated Cabinet on recent public service appointments and the latest job recruitments that are underway. The Deputy Governor also raised the critical situation of public service buildings which were badly damaged during the September hurricanes and which remain unsuitable for continued public service operations. The Deputy Governor undertook to circulate to Cabinet a list of government departments affected and that had been displaced as a result of the hurricanes
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welcomed the news from the Hon. Minister of Finance that banking services would resume on South Caicos once certain matters were addressed
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received a report from the Hon. Minister of Finance regarding the management of government accounts.
Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.