His Excellency Governor Ric Todd has published a statement reflecting from HIS perspective the first three months of locally elected government as the anniversary approaches. Governor Todd chairs the Cabinet and is responsible for ensuring good governance in the TCI. He has written about his experiences since the general election on Friday 9th November.
“I think that the people of the TCI can be satisfied with the progress of democracy and the appointment of a newly elected Government. As a key partner in developing this nation, the British perspective sees many positives in the manner in which Government business has been conducted so far. This provides a good platform for future progress. Many of the members of the House of Assembly and the Cabinet are new to their roles, as indeed are a number of senior public servants, but their desire to serve the people of TCI to the best of their abilities is there for all to see. From my side, I have regular meetings with the Premier and other Ministers and Cabinet meetings are conducted professionally and cordially; I thank my fellow Cabinet members, from the Premier down, for their support in this.”
Arguments that there were somehow two governments operating here were simply confused. The long standing Constitutional arrangement agreed by TCI’s own political and civil leaders as far back as 2006, and refreshed in the TCI Constitution Order 2011, clearly laid out the roles and responsibilities, the checks and balances, that were required to ensure the ongoing good governance of this country.
“I think that many of the challenges to the Constitution, the law, Integrity Commission rules and codes of conduct are either politically motivated or ill-informed as to their contents. Quite simply, the TCI Government and the UK share responsibility for the Territory, with each delivering to their Constitutional responsibilities.
The Governor said that when Britain made the $260m loan guarantee to TCI’s debtors, after the maladministration of the past, it provided multi-million dollar proof of its commitment. The people should not forget TCI’s national debt and where he United Kingdom stood financially only a few years ago when the government was essentially bankrupt.
Whilst the national debt is smaller than at the height of the financial crisis, it is still too large for TCI to sustain after the debt guarantee expires in 2016 and has to be brought down by the Government, therefore, to something more manageable and less expensive to refinance.
Governor Todd went on to address some specific issues that have arisen over the first three months of elected Government. VAT had been one of the bigger issues in the media recently. His regret was that the advantages of VAT had not been as well communicated as they might have been. This perhaps meant that the noise of the well orchestrated and very well privately funded anti-VAT campaign had rather dominated the debate. UK Ministers have consistently made clear that they were open to credible and sustainable alternatives to VAT, and had been awaiting proposals on this for some time.
I have always said that Government should be open, transparent and accountable. But I very much regret that private exchanges of e mails between members of the Cabinet and the content of discussions in Cabinet have been leaked to the media. In one particular case, given false reporting, I am obliged to set out the facts. I informed the Premier privately and then Cabinet on 24 January that I found unacceptable the nomination of an individual to the board of an important Statutory Body because that individual had made a racist insult and threatened violence against a public servant. If anyone thinks that racist abuse and threats of violence against named individuals is an unimportant or petty issue or that those who aspire to elected or public office should make such abuse and threats in public let them say so.
Governor Todd say he was confident all responsible people on TCI, and especially political, social and clergy leaders, would support him when he said that there was no place for personal abuse and insults in that debate. As President Obama noted in his inauguration speech, insults are not debate.
