Corruption in Turks and Caicos
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are known for being an off-shore finance centre. They are also known for their 230 miles of palm- fringed white sand beaches and being a haven for celebrities like the Rolling Stones Keith Richards, movie star Bruce Willis and British footballer Rio Ferdinand. But more recently they have had some unwelcome publicity. The premier Michael Misick is being investigated by the FBI on a rape charge. And this week the British Parliament has launched a scathing condemnation of alleged government corruption in TCI. The attack was made by a committee of senior Members of Parliament, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. This week the committee published a report on Britain’s Overseas Territories in which they singled out TCI for particular criticism. The British Parliamentarians were shocked by the number of persons who wrote to them with allegations of bribery and corruption regarding: the sale of government land; the distribution of contracts; the awarding of development agreements; road building contracts; the granting of citizenship and the misuse of public funds. Last year the House of Commons National Audit Office had highlighted the poor management of public finances as a key risk in TCI. This week the Foreign Affairs Committee concluded “We are very concerned by the serious allegations of corruption we have received from the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). They are already damaging TCI’s reputation, and there are signs that they may soon begin to affect the Islands’ tourism industry. There is also a great risk that they will damage the United Kingdom’s own reputation for promoting good governance.” The committee also talks about “the palpable climate of fear on TCI” They say “We witnessed this climate of fear for ourselves when we visited TCI. Alarmingly for a British Overseas Territory, many individuals expressed great concern about being seen to be talking to British parliamentarians and some individuals declined to meet us altogether for this reason” This is all strong stuff for a British Parliamentary committee and reflects real outrage.
Perhaps predictably some of the allegations come from opposition politicians. The committee says “The Leader of the Opposition Floyd Seymour told us that the Premier Michael Misick had declared assets worth $50,000 when he took office in August 2003 but by February 2004 he had purchased property valued at $2.3 million without a mortgage and built a multi-million pound property. He also told us that ministers, who before coming into office had driven borrowed cars and had a very low net worth, had now bought multimillion homes and land” But the committee stressed that they heard the same allegations of corruption from many neutral observers. Lee Ingham a native TCI islander living in the United States told the committee “In my opinion, with a few exceptions members of both TCI’s political parties when they are in government, seem to use their positions for self-aggrandisement and control their offices as little fiefdoms to dole out the country’s largesse to their loyal followers and humble serfs” And the committee stresses that, although most of their witnesses were too frightened to be quoted by name, they had many more submissions about TCI than about any other overseas territory. The committee also criticises the failure of the British Foreign Office or the British-appointed governor of the islands to take action in the face of such serious allegations. The committee is calling for a Commission of Inquiry into the Turks and Caicos Islands, with full protection for witnesses. We will wait and see how the British Government responds.
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