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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
January 29 - February 4, 2011
NATIONAL
Editorial Where are the fish?
DURING the public hearings into corruption in the TCI, one of the lawyers representing the Ministers asked the Commissioner if the exercises were just a fishing expedition, to which Sir Robin replied: “No, but we’re catching plenty of fish!” The world is still waiting for the big catch! We are beginning to learn that investigators don’t work like journalists. Our impatience as journalists stems from the fact that we are trained to tell the most important part of the story in the first paragraph; the less important details are left for the last. But investigators don’t work that way. They apparently work from the bottom up, building to a crescendo like a cliffhanger narrative. Take the investigation that has been going on here for the last year. The drama is unfolding like an Alfred Hitchcock movie – brimming with suspense we are told, and jammed-full of unexpected characters. But we are tired of seeing the bait. We want to see the big catch. Maybe, though, there is a method to this madness: Perhaps they need the small sprats to catch the big fish! And so we wait….
Without protocol
We are told that when protocol officer Jan Messam was roused from her bed by SIPT officers last Tuesday, she was not even given sufficient time to get ready. She was taken to the Chalk Sound police station, where she was questioned for some 12 hours, then locked up in a room for another hour before being released. According to sources, she wasn’t even allowed to eat, even though her husband brought her lunch. And the cell where she was locked up didn’t even have a chair to sit on. Is this the way SIPT officers were instructed to handle local people who have been tarnished by association with the former administration? Don’t people have certain basic human rights, even when they are in the hand of the law? What happened to those age-old principles that free countries everywhere subscribe to - including Great Britain - that declare a person innocent until proven guilty? And is it not true that what separates the civilised world from the rest of humanity is that even when one is found guilty of an offence they are still entitled to certain basic human courtesies? Jan’s story contrasts, we are told, with another case last week in which an expatriate woman was “requested” to appear at the police station for questioning. We are told that officers from the SIPT came to her home around 6.30am that morning “requesting” her to accompany them to the station. The ex-pat lady flatly informed the officers that she was not yet “properly out of bed”, but when she had finished tidying up and having breakfast she would drive herself to the station to answer any questions they had. The officers simply apologised and left. We just hope this story isn’t true.
No transparency
We just had to go back again to that list of predictions for the Islands published in the TCI Journal in their January 4 edition. Here is a very interesting one: “We expect the citizens to make efforts to include the necessary changes in our constitution that will require all future executive decisions to be made transparently in the open, and all Government transactions to be readily available.” Great! These are grand and noble aspirations, principles that ought to be enshrined in every constitution. But wouldn’t it be nice if while the Brits are here on the ground running things, if they could teach us a thing or two about “openness” and “transparency”? We had never seen the Brits in operation before now, but from what we have seen so far, we can safely say that “openness” and “transparency” are not their strong suit. We will defend this statement in another editorial.
Published by Turks & Caicos News Company Ltd. Cheshire House, Leeward Highway, Providenciales P.O. Box 52, Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI W. Blythe Duncanson – Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Gemma Handy – Associate Editor Rebecca Bird – News Editor Faizool Deo – Sports Samantha Dash – Court Cord Garrido-Lowe – Graphics/Production Editor Dilletha Lightbourne-Williams – Office Manager Email: (Advertising) tcnews@tciway.tc, (News) tcweeklynews@yahoo.com, (Talk Back) tcweeklynews@gmail.com Tel. 649-946-4664 (office), 649-232-3508 (after hours) Website address: www.tcweeklynews.com
Businessman Dale Papke plans to breathe new energy into the Ports of Call plaza.
Ports of Call, Comfort Suites set to be sold By Gemma Handy ONE of Provo’s forefront shopping centres and a hotel look set to be sold to a Canadian businessman within weeks, the Weekly News can reveal. Ports of Call plaza and the 98room Comfort Suites – both in the heart of tourist centre Grace Bay – are in line to be spruced up and revitalised once the deal is sealed. Toronto entrepreneur Dale Papke told the Weekly News he also plans to host cultural events and live music in the once bustling plaza’s courtyard. Mr Papke, who owns a number of businesses in Ontario, is poised to snap up the properties for an undisclosed sum on April 1. The Papke Properties president said his aim was to beef up visitor numbers to the mall and hotel – both of which have suffered from a lack of patrons in recent years. “It is my belief that the Turks and Caicos presents an excellent investment opportunity,” he continued. “I first visited the island two and a half years ago when one of my other companies was involved in the supply and installation of the hydrotherapy pool at the hospital and the swimming pool at The Atrium. “I was very impressed with the water, the beaches, the dining and the friendliness of the residents. “With the increased air lifts and the concerns of safety at some other popular destinations it is certainly an ideal time to promote the benefits of vacationing in Turks and Caicos.” Mr Papke said there were no immediate plans for “drastic change” such as job cuts. “Our intention is to continue operations as is, concentrating our efforts on increasing traffic to both the hotel and the plaza through increased marketing, special promotions and upgrades to both the hotel and plaza.” He said the properties had felt
Visitor numbers have dwindled at the 98-room Comfort Suites hotel.
the effects of a lack of marketing in recent years. “But Ports of Call is still considered the most active part of the island for entertainment and I want to work on that. I will try to do cultural events like live music in the courtyard to bring both locals and tourists to the plaza. “There are no plans for drastic change. It’s a bad economy right now, the Islands have been hurt and there’s been a lack of promotion at the hotel. “I want to make things better and you don’t do that by doing anything drastic.” The news has been welcomed by Ports of Call business owners. Meryl Cooper, of Spa Tropique, said: “I think he can really see the future of the centre, he is looking at it with incredibly fresh eyes. “I think he realises that there’s a way to help revitalise it and he will bring a fresh energy to it. “Our businesses here are worth more together and this will help us work more collaboratively, bringing people together rather than us all working separately.”
A spokeswoman for Mama’s Gift Shop said the plaza was currently a “dead zone”. “Most tourists don’t even know where Ports of Call is right now. If the new owners give us some promotion that will be great. “Without talk, people forget about us. “If they improve the mall we will be happy because we need improvement around here,” she added. The hotel and plaza’s current owner, James Satin, told the Weekly News he had inherited the property just over four years ago when his uncle died. Mr Satin, who lives in Canada, said: “I took over the operations but I am a lawyer and hotels are not really my business. “I have been trying to sell it over the last few years. “Dale’s intention is to try to revitalise everything and bring it back to life.” He added: “March 31 is the anticipated closing date. I expect the sale to move ahead but there is no written contract yet.”