MAY 29TH, 2015 – JUNE 5TH, 2015
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
Page 35
CARIBBEAN NEWS WORLD NEWS LOCAL NEWS
Drones under watch in Barbados
Barbados aviation authorities say they have taken note of the increasing use of drones on the island. Director of Civil Aviation Kingsley Nelson said the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), as they are referred to, present some security, privacy and safety concerns. But he said there are safety and security guidelines which currently exist to regulate the use of such vehicles and to which persons should adhere. Nelson said that the drones were becoming increasingly available
and that guidelines and processes for importation and use of these unmanned aerial vehicles were currently being reviewed by the relevant agencies. A government statement said the Division of Defence and Security, Prime Minister’s Office, The Barbados Civil Aviation Department, Barbados Defence Force, Royal Barbados Police Force, Telecommunications Division and Customs and Excise Department are among several government agencies examining the issues posed by the use of these vehicles. Nelson said the flying of drones in
no-fly areas by their operators could pose potentially severe security and safety threats. The government statement said that people wishing to operate UAVs outside of the designated areas or on a commercial basis are required to make an application to the relevant authority. “Operators of all Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are also required to be in possession of a valid Telecommunications Radiocontrolled licence; Maintain visual contact “Visual Line of Sight” with the RPAS at all times,” the Drone type - DJI Phantom 2 statement added.
Cayman Islands introducing residency application tests Approximately 350 step is for the prospective two Immigration Department permanent residence-seekers permanent residents to take the administrative workers. in the Cayman Islands will be history and culture test, which Mr. Smith could not state taking the required “history and accounts for up to 20 points on exactly when applicants would culture test” as part of their PR their PR application. Successful begin hearing back about their application over the next five to applicants must receive 110 permanent resident status, six weeks. points out of a possible 215 to but with the administration of According to the Caymanian gain PR, which is the right to the tests, the final hurdle to Compass newspaper, the first remain in Cayman for the rest of the board or immigration staff batch of tests was given to 19 one’s life. considering those applications people at the University College A number of applicants who has been removed. of the Cayman Islands campus took the history and culture test last Friday, and another 38 that was administered under Test class candidates for permanent the old Immigration Law have residence took the test on privately expressed frustration Dozens of permanent Saturday, immigration officials to the Cayman Compass about residence applicants have said. questions on that 20-question enrolled in a test class at Another group of applicants test. Some of the questions the University College of the will be given the test this Friday provided to the Compass last Cayman Islands since early April. and Saturday and each week year from the old test revealed The class is designed to help thereafter, with the goal of that they included queries about them study for the Immigration completing all of the tests for the names of the wood beam Department history and culture current applicants around the that ran through the center test. end of June or the first week in of Cayman-style houses [the The class costs $200, not July. crosspiece], the name of the pen counting additional expenses Acting Chief Immigration in which live turtles were kept for buying books, and consists of Officer Bruce Smith said [a kraal] and the name of a local a month-long, weekend course Monday that the department fiddle player who once performed aimed at assisting potential is attempting to get the history at the Grand Ole Opry [Radley “new Caymanians” in taking and culture tests done without Gourzong]. the permanent residence test. further delay due to the earlier Under the new test, The course can be taken on holdups that have occurred in which has 40 multiple choice Saturday or Sunday, typically hearing permanent residence questions, each correct answer lasts for four hours, and will be applications under the revised will be worth half a point, taught by either UCCI professor Immigration Law. with a maximum of 20 points. Livingston Smith or professor “We’re trying to get this Successful applicants must earn Christopher Williams. Following done as quickly as possible,” Mr. other points in a system that completion of the course, UCCI Smith said. “The applicants are judges them based on numerous will provide the Immigration getting very anxious.” categories, including investment Department with the names of According to records in the islands, volunteer work, the class participants. provided by the Immigration their job, their earnings, their Several books available Department in late March, 337 age, their nationality and any at the UCCI bookstore have residency applications had been Caymanian connections they been listed as approved study received since changes to the may have. materials. They include: “The law made that status far more Once the tests are complete, Cayman Islands in Transition: difficult to obtain. Since Oct. 26, each application will be evaluated The Politics, History and 2013, when amendments to the to determine success or failure. Sociology of a Changing Society” Immigration Law took effect, According to Mr. Smith, the by J.A. [Roy] Bodden, “Founded none of the PR applications “contentious applications” will be Upon the Seas: A History of has been heard because of legal heard by the Caymanian Status the Cayman Islands and Their uncertainty surrounding how to and Permanent Residency Board. People” by Michael Craton and interpret the points system that However, applications where the the New History Committee, governs whether an applicant person clearly has enough points and “Caymanian Expressions: A will be successful. That legal to earn permanent residency, or collection of sayings and phrases uncertainty was cleared up obviously does not have enough used in the Cayman Islands” by earlier this year, and the next points, can be heard by one of Kevin Goring.
The Bahamas Breaks Global Standards With Jet Fuel Tax The Bahamas is breaching international standards by levying 7 per cent import duty on jet fuel, warns a report produced for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The document, entitled ‘Making Air Transport work better for the Caribbean’, says the worldwide aviation industry standard requires that jet fuel supplies should not be subject to such taxes. “Fuel costs across the Caribbean are estimated to be 14 per cent higher than the world average,” warned the report, which was unveiled recently at the CDB’s annual governors’ meeting. “The Bahamas applies a 7 per cent import duty on jet fuel, in contravention of global standards in relation to jet fuel, which state that it should not be taxed.” The report added that such issues made fuel costs in the region a major challenge for both commercial airlines and private aviation, and were another factor inhibiting the sector’s competitiveness. The findings prompted the head of one Bahamianowned airline to call for the Government to again reassess how it taxed the local aviation industry, and how it employed the proceeds. Captain Randy Butler, Sky Bahamas’ president and chief executive, said that in addition to the concerns raised in the CDB report, the Civil Aviation Department also levied its own $0.07 per gallon tax on fuel. “The thing I always tell people is that in a business like this, user fees are the best way to go,” he told Tribune Business. “If you use it, you pay for it. “The Government should also be obliged to take aeronautical fees and put them back into the industry to keep it growing. That’s one of the problems. There’s not enough revenue coming in from the airports, but what money is coming in is going into the Consolidated Fund” and not back into improving aviation infrastructure. Captain Butler suggested that the Bahamas’ 7 per cent import duty on jet fuel could be an “innocent” mistake, and stem from this nation “not getting involved with what’s happening in the industry. Calling on Civil Aviation to keep the Government better informed on industry developments, he added: “If it’s something we know we should not be doing, then we should stop doing it. I’d be happy if the Government quit doing it. “We’ve got to pay our way, but not to the point where the Government is taxing us out of business.” Apart from 7.5 per cent Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) implementation, Captain Butler said his company had also dealt with a 50 basis point increase in the Business Licence fee rate and two increases in Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) fees. He also complained that Grand Bahama International Airport was increasing the fees it levies on airlines during holiday periods. Meanwhile, the air transport report described Bahamasair’s annual $20 million losses as “generally deemed acceptable” by the Government and Bahamian people, due to the airline’s role in the tourism industry.