Response to Outrageous Claims of Board Corruption.
I want to address the recent allegations made by the Hon. Premier Misick and his Administration, towards Board members previously appointed by the immediate past PDM administration. These comments were disingenuous, very reckless, and is only being used to justify an end.
The Hon. Premier has recently accused persons previously appointed to Boards as being corrupted, unqualified, and incompetent.
He has also stated that former members were on boards for the sole purpose of collecting a paycheck, even though the majority of Boards pays a very minute amount to its members and some Boards do not pay anything.
The Hon. Premier also stated that persons are now having to submit a C.V before being approved to serve on Boards. This is nothing new, or maybe just new to the current Government. It has been the previously established protocol for the appointment of Board members during my tenure as a Cabinet Minister. I know for a fact that all persons serving on Boards during the immediate past PDM Administration were required to submit a C.V to be presented in Cabinet.
In addition, the responsible Minister for the particular Boards was the one who solicited suitable persons’ willingness to serve on a Board, not persons looking for a paycheck. We had actively recruited qualified Turks and Caicos Islanders to serve, matching knowledge, skills, experience, and abilities with Board functioning.
I challenge the Hon. Premier to go back and review the Members appointed to the various Government and Statutory Boards under the PDM Administration. It would rightly show that all persons appointed were suitable, qualified, and experienced to serve on their respective Boards.
The Premier’s intent is to create a one-sided narrative about persons serving on Boards appointed under the immediate past PDM administration, A narrative that is clearly in all respects untrue.
This mischaracterization of the truth, has the effect of smearing the character of persons that were serving on Boards.
It is discouraging for our people to see this shameful action by a newly elected Government to be on this rampage of spreading Baseless Claims of Corruption and Mismanagement on Boards, and moving in such a way to permanently tarnish the reputations of Board serving Turks & Caicos Islanders.
I state this disclaimer, that I fully support the notion that an elected Government should have the ability to appoint Board members after winning a general election, and that the Board appointments should have the same life of the Administration appointing them, four years, with substitutions being made when situations call for it. However, our current system does not allow for the removal of sitting members from Boards, before the expiration of their appointment time, without having just cause.
During my time as a Cabinet Minister, advice was given that it is unconstitutional to action the removal of sitting members from Boards who have not violated any law or code of conduct. In addition, we were strongly cautioned that pursuing these actions will enact serious repercussions to ourselves and the Turks & Caicos Government.
Therefore, in order for the new PNP Administration to legally remove persons from Boards, a plan was incorporated to perpetuate false and unproven narratives about the conduct or Board Members, in order to justify the removing all PDM appointees from Boards.
It is with some concern that I note how this purge of Sitting Board members is being allowed to pass through Cabinet, and the willingness to allow this unjustified removal to take place by Non-Elected Government Officials.
I am not aware, or have been informed, of any Independent review or Inquiry conducted on allegations of corruption of the aforementioned Boards. Nor am I aware of any investigations being carried out into the conduct of members previously serving on Boards. Also, I am not aware of any findings of mismanagement or corruption being published in any forum.
This tactic is clearly only being used as a justification for termination of PDM Board members.
This is a sad day at this time in the history of the Turks & Caicos Islands, to witness what this New PNP administration is doing. The Government claims that they are fighting against corruption, but in actuality are applying corrupt tactics as their modus operandi. They have exposed their hypocrisy and their true motives. The removal of Board members has nothing to do with eliminating any perceived corruption or mismanagement, it has everything to do with getting more Power to further their sleazy campaigns.
Our country is witnessing a shameful act of disenfranchising our citizens, by using the tactic of labelling our law-abiding sitting members as being corrupt, unskilled, and unqualified, so that they can be replaced by PNP supporters that have been promised positions for rewarding their supporters.
If it is now the desire to have the particular Laws changed, to allow for the constitutional removal of sitting persons serving on Boards without having just cause, then the proper procedure should be followed by making amendments in the House of Assembly, and not by destroying the reputation of our citizens, who have patriotically accepted to serve on Boards, and showing a complete disregard for damaging their lives and livelihoods.
Actions such as this by new PNP Administration, can have the effect of rapidly moving our country from Democracy to Tyranny, by tying to use the force of law to punish their political opponents and non-supporters.
These actions are also seen as a Government turning its back on the rule of Law and poisoning the democratic system of a country. We have to also be able to trust that our leaders will not spew something out there that is wrong, unproven, and not verified.
It appears the Hon. Premier and his Administration are looking to find a fall guy, they want to find a scapegoat to justifying their actions. If this was not the aim, then they would have only target the Boards, or a particular Board member, in question.
It is important for leaders to tell the truth at all times, and not spread unproven falsehoods. We need to discontinue living in this nonfactual political reality.
As a country we need to be focused on getting things done for our people right now, and not engaging in this extreme Partisan rhetoric.
We have to focus our attention on what is best for our nation on a whole.
We have to stick to standards and facts, and not stand with things that are damaging for the country, damaging for our people, and damaging for our future.
We need to love our People more than we love our Party.
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