Lillian Misick, the chair of the Turks and Caicos Islands Consultative Forum, has welcomed the new constitution for the territory negotiated at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London last week with Britain’s minister with responsibility for the overseas territories, Henry Bellingham, saying that she was happy to report the following:
1. Mr Bellingham agreed with our recommendation to leave in place our first past the post electoral system. He also agreed with Doreen Quelch-Misick’s inspired suggestion that the House should be comprised of 19 members: 10 elected from newly drawn constituencies, 5 elected “at large” or nationwide, and 4 appointed. I believe these and related changes will break the provincial stranglehold the two political parties have held on deciding who gets to stand for elective office in the TCI.
2. I remain convinced however that public financing of elections is critical to getting at the root cause of the political corruption that has plagued our beloved country in recent years. Therefore, I look forward to working with FCO officials in the weeks ahead to bring forward legislation to this effect for debate and vote in the Consultative Forum.
3. Mr Bellingham agreed that the term Belonger should be thrown into the dustbin of history. We are now citizens who shall henceforth be called Turks and Caicos Islanders; although, I prefer the term TCIslanders (pronounced T-C-Islanders). It rolls off the tongue easier.
4. Mr Bellingham agreed that the Deputy Governor should be a TCIslander – period!
5. Mr Bellingham agreed that some of the language in the section on the Governor’s powers was unnecessarily imperious. He also agreed however that those powers must remain “sufficiently robust” to foil what I described as the spectacle of local leaders blaming the UK-appointed governor for their corrupt practices.
6. Mr Bellingham agreed that there should be a clear path to TCI citizenship with defined conditions. Those who qualify should not be subjected to untenable delays or the alleged bribes we’ve heard so much about. This should also enlarge the franchise commensurate with our new demographic realities.
7. Mr Bellingham agreed that the trial by jury legislation we enacted earlier this year is sound and should remain in place.
These were the major points of contention and I believe they were all resolved in ways that will serve all TCIslanders well. More importantly, I am confident that, despite the protests of a vocal minority, the vast (silent) majority of our people will proudly embrace our new Constitution when it comes into force in due course.
Apropos of protests, reports are that the party leaders in our delegation are upset because so many of their recommendations were rejected. But I urge them to acknowledge and respect the fact that their recommendations were duly considered. They would also do well to reflect on the consternation they caused by vacillating throughout this process between mounting feckless boycotts and making impudent demands.
In the meantime, I hope this experience will help these party leaders see the wisdom now of working with the Forum to meet the other milestones that Mr Bellingham and Alan Duncan, Minister of State for International Development, set out for return to home rule. Most notable in this respect are the efforts underway to return our budget to surplus and reform our civil service.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr Damian Roderic (Ric) Todd on his appointment as the next Governor of the TCI. I look forward to giving him a warm welcome on behalf of all TCIslanders when he assumes office in September. I am confident that we will enjoy the same cordial, constructive and collaborative relationship that we’ve had with Governor Wetherell over the past three years.
