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The British bamboozled us – Conrad Howell

By Vivian Tyson

Clergymen Rev. Dr. Conrad Howell said that the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands have been tricked by the United Kingdom Government, who was now ruling the country in an autocratic fashion.
Speaking at the Progressive National Party (PNP) rally the party headquarters on Airport Road on Friday, March 30, Howell said that Turks and Caicos Islanders had seen critical parts of their lives changed “with the stroke of a pen”.
“We have seemed, since 2009, to be governed by persons, who have no real appreciation for what we have achieved or our way of life. And to borrow from a current phrase in the Bahamas right about now, ‘truly, we have been had, bamboozled, run amok and lied to’. We saw systems, industries, policies and ideals changed by the stroke of a pen. Institutions that we held sacred and thought were blind, now seem to be biased and bent away from justice.”

Everything about our Turks and Caicos, has changed so much that it almost appeared foreign. And what seemed unimaginable and absolutely impossible only a half decade ago has shattered our vision and almost obliterated out dreams. The dismal cloud which contains the removal of our rights to representation, the oppression of our people and the denial of real participation in governance of our country – that is the absence of democracy and imposed autocracy and the determination to rewrite, with limitation, a future for Turks and Caicos, cannot be tolerated any longer,” Howell insisted.
Howell emphatically stated that based on their treatment from Britain, the TCI people should not stop at ensuring a return to elected government but to aim for the self-determination target.
“While we prepare for elections, it cannot be the goal. Elections must only be the method utilized to achieve our goals, being backed by a firm determination, to secure the rights of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands; the preservation of their freedom, recognizing the supremacy of God, with a national commitment to self-discipline, patriotism, unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the rule of law,” he said.
He also stated that Islanders should pledge a commitment to diversify the country through sustainable social, educational and economic development in the people’s interest, while embracing persons and opportunities that shared the common goal of Turks and Caicos Islands’ people. The clergyman also pointed out that Turks and Caicos Islanders should apply any means necessary to safeguard itself from all forms of the threat to its existence, whether domestic or foreign.
“I am determined to see to the achievement of the desired goal of Turks and Caicos, and to secure the same by any God-given means. We stand at the beginning of what is now a new opportunity to shape our destiny, and we must do so vigorously. The days at hand, our initiative must be urgent because procrastination is exceedingly costly. We have survived in, and enjoyed these Turks and Caicos (islands) for the last 300 years, and know what it takes to make it work,” Howell emphasized.
He continued: “At the UN Conference last year, I put it this way, ‘since we have had to do it for the last 300 years and since that the metropolitan cities, especially that of London think that they know best for us; one size does not fit all’. If we had learned how to survive on these rocks, then we ought to know to move it forward. We know how to make Turks and Caicos move ahead. Further, we found that Turks and Caicos only moves ahead when Turks and Caicos Islanders are making the necessary decisions. We have to do what we must, so that we can achieve what we desire.”
published in SUN,Turks and Caicos Islands on 17th of April 2012
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British cause TCIslanders to hate each other – Wayne Garland

Former Progressive National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament Wayne Garland said that Turks and Caicos Islands people have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by the British into mounting a campaign geared at crushing each other to the detriment of the country.
Garland made the statement at the PNP rally held at the party’s headquarters on March 30, 2012, where he was one of the speakers.
“We, as a people; we, as a country have been oppressed for the last three and a half years. We have been seriously oppressed, but what I want to talk to you about is about us a people coming together, and also, as a people standing up for one another. We are not being what we used to be – having one another’s back. It doesn’t matter whether you are PNP or PDM, the most important thing for us is that, we are Turks and Caicos Islanders.
“Over the last three years, we have backstabbed, we have backbite, and we talked about one another. We only wanted to see who are going to be arrested. We only wanted to see who are going to be put in prison. But let me tell you something, when we start to wish hate on one another, we are wishing hate on ourselves.
Every single one of us, from Salt Cay, way down to West Caicos, interlocked one way or the other. We have ties by family one way or the other. So every time you wish hatred on one, we wish hatred on our own. If we are going to move ahead as a progressive nation, we need to let go of the hate.  We need to let go of the hypocrisy. We need to let go of trying to backstabbing one another and this genuine hate for one another,” Garland warned.
Garland told reminded the gathering that Turks and Caicos Islanders once banded together despite political affiliation, but in recent time they have allowed a cutthroat attitude to fester among them, causing the country great pain.
“We are one people. We are our brothers’ keepers. It doesn’t matter whether you are blue, brown, purple or green; we are one people. We used to live well, what happened? We allowed some British oppressors to come in and drive a spear between us and separate us as a people.
“Now look at it, whose living good? Who is living in Grace Bay in high-rises? Who can go to the stores and buy the best quality foods? We used to be like that, we can be like that again, but like I say, we should be willing to make some sacrifices,” he implored.
Injecting a bit of biblical flavor into his presentation, Garland stressed that the torrid period that the TCI was currently going through paralleled to that of the 40 days of testing that Jesus Christ went through during what is now known as the Lenten season.
“We have been tested for the last three and a half years. We have been prosecuted for the last three and a half years. It is now time for us to open our eyes and be resurrected. It is time for us to stand and take our country back. It is time for us as young people not to sit back idle anymore, but should be able to look anybody in the face and say ‘this land is ours, and we are going to take it’. Don’t be afraid, young people,” Garland pleaded.
Garland also blasted the Attorney General Chambers for making attempts to seize and destroy the PNP Headquarters, while emphasizing that any attempts to yank the structure from that party would be fiercely resisted.
“This building behind us is an institution, this is a mark, this is something that a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into. This is a symbol for us as a party, and I will be damned if any white man or British oppressor think they can come here and take it from us. It will be a cold day in hell first. Nobody is going to mess with this institution…this belong to us.
“Today, it may be the Progressive National Party Headquarters; tomorrow it could be the PDM Headquarters. Today it could be ‘Ma Jane’s shop down the road’, the next day it is going to be ‘Sister Ashley’s house up the street’. We have to open our eyes and see what they are doing to us. They are pitting us one against other,” Garland told the audience.

published in SUN,Turks and Caicos Islands on 17th of April 2012
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PDM READY TO RULE TCI


The People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) kicked off its political campaign Wednesday night, April 11, with a high-energy rally at its headquarters down town Providenciales, to drum up support among its base and the wider public in anticipation for elections this year, also using the event to express its readiness to take the reins of government once again.
Distributing party campaign T-shirts with a call for elections this year emblazoned across the front, many of the speakers, including party leader Derek Taylor, announced that a PDM Government would reverse majority of the laws now being implemented by the Interim Administration, while easing the current economic and social burden now being faced by the populace.
Taylor announced that the 10-year vision that the PDM crafted for the country sometime ago, which would bring prosperity for all the people of the country, was still relevant, and would be used as a vehicle in the party’s pursuit for political office.
He said that the PDM would reopen the civil service for employment, while balancing the budget without putting the people under duress, a feat he said was accomplished in the past by that party. Taylor said also that he would introduce legislation to create a development bank so that local businesses would be able to access loans at cheaper interest rates, while seek to introduce an equal pay law, so as to create income parity in the respective categories within the job market.
Party members said the PDM would also revisit the InterHealth Canada contract, which they said was not serving the best interest of Turks and Caicos Islanders, especially those who had lost their jobs. They said also that the Immigration and Labour laws would also be put under the microscope so as to safeguard the borders, while giving Turks and Caicos Islanders a fair shake in the job market.
“We envision a Turks and Caicos Islands with long term economic stability, and that can only happen under a People’s Democratic Movement government. We are not going to have this nonsense again,” Taylor said, referring to the economic abyss in which the country has found itself. “And we are going to engage each other every step of the way. You are going to have a government that is open, that you can challenge, that you can honestly sit down and talk to.”
“We envision a vibrant economy of Turks and Caicos Islanders that are able to sustain and exceed the growth of the past. And we envision a Turks and Caicos Islands where a strong economy and social empowerment are the order of the day for all Turks and Caicos Islanders.
“We will introduce equal pay legislation, to ensure that all workers are paid based on the work performed rather than on race, colour, gender or national origin. This will give further emphasis to what have already been expressed in the Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Taylor said.
Addressing the issue of setting up a financial institution that would provide Turks and Caicos Islanders, especially those who would be able to access loans from commercial banks, with loans at cheap interest rates, Taylor declared: “In 2003, we had already engaged the Caribbean Development Bank; we had already engaged European investment bank, with the intention of making sure that Turks and Caicos Islanders and Turks and Caicos Small businesses are able to access loans at lower interest rate.
“We are going back and we are going to engage those two financial institutions – one in the Caribbean and the other in Europe with the intention of lowering the interest rate, and we are going to again legislation for a development bank.”
In the meantime, the PDM Leader lashed TC Invest for not serving the interest of small businesses, stressing that the interest rate that it was imposing was higher than that of commercial banks.
“TC Invest was not put in place to make a profit at the expense of our people. Yes, we have to take care of administration overheads, but there should be no reason why the interest rate from TC Invest should have been higher than the commercial banks.
Taylor said also that a PDM government would utilize the Small Business Enterprise Development Centre to provide training for small business entrepreneurs and those facing problems in their businesses.
On the matter of education, Taylor pointed out that monies collected from the private sector for scholarships would be placed in a special fund by his administration, that would go solely towards its intended purpose, instead of funneling into the consolidated fund, which he said was the current practice.
“We are going to make sure that the private sector contribution towards scholarships would be placed in a special fund as we had it before, in order that you can know exactly the contribution from the private sector towards scholarships, and we are going to make sure that the private sector businesses benefit from the same also.
“Under a Derek Taylor administration, you can go sleep and wake up in the morning knowing that the public purse is intact, and it would not be attacked. You can rest assured that there will be responsibility and accountability,” he said.
Among the other speakers at the event were National Chairman, Reuben Hall; National Treasurer, Dwayne Taylor; National; Secretary General, Euwonka Selver; her father and former deputy leader of the party Clarence Selver; Cheryl Astwood-Tull; O’Neil Delancy; and Samuel Harvey.

published in SUN,Turks and Caicos Islands 17th of April

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TOP NEWS.DR RUFUS EWING WILL ANNOUNCE RUNNING FOR LEADER OF PNP

Dr.Rufus Ewing will be announcing today,11th of April 2012,at 11.00 am  at the PNP Head Quarters,his intention to run the leadership and run the country.He will present his vision.

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Bishop Blasts Brits

Derek Browne says Interim Government ‘sinking’ TCI

By Vivian Tyson
SUN Senior Editor
At least one clergyman is calling for the return of former Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands Richard Tauwhare, to face questioning and possibly charges in the ongoing Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) corruption probe, since he was the chief overseer for government affairs during the Michael Misick administration.
Bishop Derek Browne, President for the Methodist Conference of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands and Pastor for the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Blue Hills, said that former governor Tauwhare was equally responsible for anything found to be untoward during the former Misick administration, and should be asked to answer to charges similar to those that his former cabinet colleagues were facing, which included corruption and money laundering.
“I have shared in the past, and I continue to share now that the situation that we are in now has not started with the British folk. For me, it started with the former administration, which included the Governor Richard Tauwhare. Richard Tauwhare needs to come back here or wherever to and answer in the same manner in which the local leaders are being called to respond to whatever charges.
“He should be here because much of what went on went on either with his approval, or if it was any matter of being set up, he set up for others to do the dirty work. But he was a part of what was going on, and we should not look at justice as being something which is one-sided. Whatever is good for the local leaders must also be good for the leaders of Britain who are part of the administration here,” Browne charged.
Unimpressed by the leadership of the Interim Administration, Bishop Browne said that the church could not sit idly by and watch injustices run amok. He also called on the current leadership to change its style of governance from an autocratic one to one of plurality, since the people have a part to play in deciding how they should be governed.

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“The Church is the conscience of the society; the church has to speak out against the dictatorship, and that kind of style. The church has to also speak out against things that would happen that are not in-keeping with the law.  It is the church’s responsibility to speak out against injustice. But for me, we do not speak on hearsay.
“I have said that the current administration which is led by the governor, in many instances, they do what they feel like doing. They don’t consult, and much of what is happening, as far as I am concerned, is not for the benefit and the betterment of the Turks and Caicos Islands. As far as I am concerned, when I looked at certain things being done, it seems to be done with the intention of sinking the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Browne argued.
Bishop Browne pointed out that the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands would come away with a different point of view of the Interim Administration, if, when considering to implement certain measures, they would  garner the input of the people, coupled with their ideas, to arrive at a bipartisan decision, instead of arbitrarily implementing their plans.
“What can give persons a different perspective is, if they would sit more frequently and discuss in an open way, and not come with preconceived ideas, because the Turks and Caicos Islands economy is not the economy of Britain, and you cannot run it in the same way.
“The whole matter of increasing taxes; you may have to increase taxes, but you must do it wisely and sensibly. And when you look at it, there has been an exodus outside of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and so, things have changed in many ways. Things are getting worst; persons are being laid off; and taxes are increasing in many instances. And so, where you would have had more people involved – for example, national health – now there is less. It was not sufficient when you had more people, what about now?” Browne asserted.
He added: The governor and his team, who seemed to have come having all the answers; I think they need to work with people; here their concerns and be objective. But they have come with a subjective view.  They already know what they are going to do, and it is sad. They have issues (in the UK) the same as we have here; they can’t fix them, but somehow, they have this bright idea that they can fix the things in the Turks and Caicos.

published in SUN TCI

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British Not Serving The Best Interests of The Turks And Caicos Islands,by LILLIAN BOYCE

By Vivian Tyson- SUN Senior Editor

Former Deputy Premier Lillian Boyce says British direct rule was not in the best interest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, since they were not looking out for the benefit of the people of this country, but for themselves.
Therefore, she urged the young people to make themselves available for service to their country, so that the British would never again take what was rightfully theirs.
“Every one of our young people who have the ambition to enter politics, you should go forth and do it. Go and serve your country. Make that important contribution, so that they (British) cannot keep on bringing in these old, lazy, good for nothing, baldheaded, grey haired British People, who are sleeping on the job. You, Young people, who we are educated, take your position in our country because we certainly don’t need them to push papers,” Boyce said during a Progressive National Party rally on Friday night, March 30, at the PNP headquarters along Airport Road in Providenciales.
She said that the PNP trumped the Interim Administration on education at all levels, the management of the economy and human rights as a whole, and as such, there was no comparison between the two administrations.
“When we were the government, the PNP, and of course the PDM- because I prefer to have an elected government any day than this British colonial party – we cared about education. Now, hundreds of children are on the streets not being educated. Whether they are our nationality or whether they are our Caribbean brothers and sisters, it is important for our children, any children living our country, to be educated. Under an elected government, you know that we would educate our children from early childhood education to tertiary level. We have thousands of educated people today because of the education policy that we, as a government, had,” Boyce said.
On the matter of investment, Boyce said that the former PNP administration, through its policies, modernized the Turks and Caicos. She said however, that the British Government was planning to decimate all that was achieved.
“I sometimes wonder what would really happen if the international media would just take for a moment and find out what is happening in the Turks and Caicos. Many of you who had a piece of land to build your dream home or just to build a home, today you can’t even afford it. They have raised the price above affordability. Those of you whose children have finished college, the community college or high school, at least three years ago are here unemployed,” she said.
Boyce also lamented the massive cut in the civil service, which she said was designed to leave many on the street jobless in a shrinking economy.
She charged that a number of locals who had been axed from the civil service were frustrated out of their jobs by the Interim Administration, who wanted to replace them with UK workers.
“We have Dr. Ewing here, and Sonia Williams, who used to be my undersecretary in Education (Ministry); we have many other Turks and Caicos Islanders, who spent their last day in the civil service today (Friday, March 30), simply because the Brits want to push them out to bring in their lazy, good for nothing people, to go up on Grace Bay Beach to cool out; to live in big time hotels and cool out on our beach.
“Of course we have some Turks and Caicos Islanders, who love to lick, lick, lick (sell-out their own at any cost), but I am happy that people like Dr. Ewing and Sonia Williams told them to ‘go to hell’; ‘give me my package’ or  ‘I resign’; ‘I will definitely go and  serve my country’, ” Boyce noted.
Boyce said that she was happy that the rally attracted not only PNP supporters but also PDM sympathizers. Among the members of the audience was the PDM’s Secretary General Ewonka Selver.
CAPTION: Lillian Boyce delivers her speak at the PNP Rally

published in SUNTCI

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TCI CEO Patrick Boyle SNIPES at Political Parties

Chief executive officer of the interim administration, Patrick Boyle, took to the airwaves on the Expressions radio show last week to express his frustration with the criticism being leveled at the interim government. 

patrick_boyle.jpg
CEO Patrick Boyle

Boyle complained that both political parties have failed to provide “policy agendas” that lay out their plans for moving the county forward.

Boyle went on to say that the sole agenda of the interim government was to repair the damage caused by the previous administration of the Progressive National Party (PNP). 

“We are putting in place a government which places more power in the hands of the permanent secretaries and their deputies to lay the groundwork for future development,” he said. 

The CEO also spoke of the interim administration’s move to provide an improved civil service. This move has resulted in the hundreds of civil servants accepting payoffs to volunteer for permanent layoffs. This is costing the taxpayers of the TCI almost $8 million, with settlements described as “severance” ranging from $1,000 per person to one unnamed civil servant receiving a payoff of $194,000.

There has been no announcement by the interim administration for training of the current public service. This, it appears, is being left up to the permanent secretaries and their deputies, which by and large are the exact same people that have held these or similar positions throughout the removed PNP administration.

Boyle went on to point out that, in his view, political activists were wasting their efforts on chiding the interim government. 

The print media picked up on Boyle’s remarks and, in an article in last week’s TCI Weekly News, reporter Vanessa Marina reminded readers that, since the total reformation of the Peoples Democratic Party in November 2011, the party has remained silent, not releasing any plans for the country, opting instead to call for the earliest possible election. 

The Weekly News article reported that the PNP was concerned that the party might not survive the pressure being applied by the interim regime and the special investigation and prosecution team (SIPT). 

A dozen former PNP ministers, their attorneys, the current PNP leader and former Speaker of the House, plus their close relatives, are all due in court this month to answer a wide range of criminal charges. Also being charged are developers who are alleged to have provided bribes and very large campaign contributions to the PNP. Former PNP premier Michael Misick has refused to return to the TCI and is now sought by Interpol. 

The SIPT has indicated their investigation has uncovered evidence that could result in at least another 50 individuals being charged. Those charged to date have included only those connected with the PNP. 

The possibility of the end of the PNP was picked up by television when PTV 8 aired a review of the recent PNP rally, where the agenda was to call for the salvation of their headquarters building, which Attorney General Huw Sheapheard has said must be demolished because it was illegally constructed on Crown land. 

The television reporter said, “The pressure on the PNP party by the charges of corruption in government have seemed to challenge their existence.”
 published in TCI News

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