May 4 -10, 2013
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
NEWS 13
Justice Ramsay-Hale ruling being appealed in Conch Farm case
ATTORNEYS for Governor Ric Todd were slated to appear in the Supreme Court on Friday to appeal the decision by Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale not to submit the Conch Farm case to arbitration. On February 11, Justice RamsayHale ruled that the full details of the case - which sees the Government being sued for up to $100m - should be heard in open court, despite the Government’s requests for it to be settled privately. A representative at the Attorney General’s office confirmed to the Weekly News that the Governor’s lawyers are appealing this decision. Managing Director of Trade Wind Industries, the parent company of the Caicos Conch Farm, Richard Berke, also speaking with Weekly News, said his lawyers have filed a motion asking that the appeal be rejected on the grounds that the defendant has already accepted the decision of the court. Berke contended that the defence cannot say they are going to appeal the decision then act as if they are going to abide by it. According to information received by this publication, the
defence team has complained to the court and Berke’s lawyers about the plaintiff making certain statements in the local media, and that this could be another issue being dealt with when the parties appear in court. TWI has taken the Governor to Court for breach of contract, malicious falsehoods, defamation and unlawful interference with the company’s economic interests. TWI is being represented by Attorney-at-law, Monique Allen of Saunders and Co. while lawyers from international law firm, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, appear on behalf of Governor Todd. During the last appearance, Allen argued that the matter should be heard in the public so that her client could be vindicated and that a private dispute resolution – which the defence prefers – could result in additional costs, delays and differing results. The matter stems from the withdrawal of a $15m long term loan for the breeding centre at Heaving Down Rock in Providenciales, forcing the closure of the Caicos Conch Farm in August 2012.
Digicel hosts 4G pre-launch party DIGICEL TCI held their ‘Be Extraordinary’ corporate party for the launch of the greatly anticipated 4G network at the Somerset Hotel in Providenciales on Tuesday evening. Although the party was prior to the official launch, Digicel customers in Grand Turk were able to sign up for the newly added service plan, which will be made available on Thursday – also the scheduled date of the opening of the Digicel new building in the nation’s capital. On Friday Digicel will reopen its office space next to the Graceway IGA, also giving residents on Provo the opportunity to sign up for the 4G network. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Digicel TCI, E. Jay Saunders, noted that this party was a representation of the company’s milestones. He said: “After a while you come to a point where you become very mature and you realise that it’s not about you anymore. “We realised that if we want to be a full telecommunications company then it has to be more then just about us. “It’s about giving back to the costumers so that’s what this whole ‘Be Extraordinary’ is about. “It’s not about Digicel being extraordinary, it’s about the customer being extraordinary, it’s about
empowering our customers through our tools, this party is the start of that journey.” The event was well attended and guests were offered a variety of finger foods and drinks while they enjoyed pole dancing and a live band. Saunders briefly explained what 4G really was. He said: “4G simply means the fourth generation of cellular service. “When cellular first came out it had no data capabilities and that was considered 1G, so 1G simply means the first generation. “Then they went to 2G and it would allow you to send some data services over the network and that was things like SMS and GPRS services where you were really with no browsing but you could send some emails. “They then went to two and a half gigabytes which is Edge and Edge which allowed a bit of browsing but not the rich experience that you would get on your desktop. “Then 3G came out and they realised that the same experience that you could have on your desktop was now possible on your phones. “4G now takes it even further and this is what they call Long Term Evolution (LTE) plus the experience is very rich. I can watch a trailer on my phone with no buffering.” (DAISY HANDFIELD)
TWI contended that the Government caused the upheaval because a development order which was needed to secure the loan, failed to appear. However, Governor Todd disputed this, and claimed that Government had done nothing wrong. Last August the company released a statement which alleged that the Government had modified previously granted concessions in the development agreement between the two. That agreement was signed by then Governor, Gordon Wetherell on May 28, 2010. TWI accused the Government and the Crown of breaching the terms
and conditions of the development agreement. The company also hit out at the Government for the length of time it took to have the order finalised. It further claimed that due to the failure of the TCIG to fulfil its obligations, the lender withdrew its letter of intent to the company. TCIG in its own statement sought to clarify the matter. It said the negotiations to convert the original agreement into a development order took some time to complete. It stated that the company had no objections when consulted on the draft document in June 2012. According to the TCIG statement,
the developers subsequently requested that TCIG make changes to the terms of the original agreement to extend the operation to include the capacity to farm fish. This was later refuted by TWI in a second statement. The company said the agreement had always included the right to farm fish, and that it did not request any concessions from the current administration. TWI further requested that the TCIG and the Crown honour the development agreement and supplemental concessions granted in writing by former Governor Wetherell. No response was forthcoming from the TCIG or the Crown.