| Colin Roberts Gives Overview of UK Strategy |
 On his first visit to the Turks and Caicos, Colin Roberts, Director for the Overseas Territories at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, gave a clear and poignant overview of the UK’s position in regards to the Turks and Caicos political and economical development. He was invited by the Chamber of Commerce and accompanied by the Governor, HE Gordon Wetherell. After short introductions by Chamber of Commerce President Tina Fenimore and Chamber of Commerce Secretary Tanya Parnell, Mr. Roberts began by saying, “The Turks and Caicos are stunningly beautiful as well as highly developed and, in that, very different from the other Overseas Territories in the Caribbean,” setting up the UK’s position that the Turks and Caicos are in a better financial position than most countries. Roberts described the Turks and Caicos as being center-stage in UK Parliament, “The Commission of Inquiry revealed many shocking facts. The British Prime Minister and Parliament are seriously concerned. The problems have been recognized, we know what to do and we will act fairly soon. Nobody can simply walk away from this,” Roberts said.
During his short visit to TCI, many solutions alternative to a partial suspension of the TCI constitution involving the current government staying in power have been presented to him, but Roberts says the UK “does not believe this is the right way forward.” Giving reason for this, he said, “This would diminish the credibility of the British Government and the TCI as a country. The TCI brand has been tarnished and it must be restored.” He appeared to have a very specific agenda and presented the plan the UK have already devised to deal with the perceived problems in the Turks and Caicos. According to Roberts, the main areas of intervention on the UK agenda are restoring sound public financing, sorting out structural and systematic problems in the government that have allowed this overall situation to arise and Roberts did not waiver in the UK’s commitment to use the appropriate judicial and legal means to pursue the crimes committed against the Turks and Caicos. Another of the main objectives of the UK Strategy is to create “more transparency for the governmental activities and decisions, to avoid a recurrence of this situation in the future, including land development proposals.” What will not happen according to Roberts, “We will not send hundreds of administrators from London, but rather a few specialists where specific support is required.” The Governor had outlined these areas in his public address on July2nd. In addition, he said they are committed to keeping the intervention as short possible. They have earmarked two years, but are determined to complete the process quicker. “This is not about taking back power,” Roberts said, “but about setting the country back on track and enabling the TCI to move forward on their own for a successful future.” When asked whether the British would supply the much needed financial stimulus for the TCI, Mr. Roberts made it very clear that, “per capita GDP of the TCI is probably higher than that of the UK, so the proposition of solving the TCI financial difficulties with UK tax payer’s money is not popular in the UK Parliament, especially since the problems were caused through TCI based corruption and mismanagement.” It was clear from Roberts repeated statements on the topic, that the UK will not be providing funds for the country to solve its fiscal problems and that the TCI will have to supply the financial stimulus on its own accord. Roberts also stated that the UK sees only one way to generate confidence for foreign investment into the TCI: to fix the problems actively and with resolve. ”We have to show that we are acting to fix the problems rather than only talking about it.” However willing they are to do that, Roberts also admitted, “To do that we first have to get past the legal obstacles that have been put in our way.” A solution Roberts was prepared to offer is that a relaxation of borrowing requirements can be introduced, if necessary, “but we need to see action in reducing unnecessary public expenditure and increase governmental income.” The Governor amended that it has been recognized that the Land Registry is currently not functioning as it should and that this issue has been prioritized. Several other more operational issues were raised by the public such as lower level corruption in government agencies, reduction of the increasing crime rate and approval of open work permit applications. The Governor answered somewhat evasively by saying he would be looking into the topics and work to help solve the current frustrations being experienced with regard to specific government agencies. When asked why the British believe that they can fix the TCI while having their own irregularities in British Government, Mr. Roberts simply commented, “the difference is that in Britain we bring these issues out into the open and address them.” It was emphasized by both Mr. Roberts and the Governor that it is planned to install a system of “Good Governance” in the Turks and Caicos, but no clear statement was made at this point as what this means and includes. The Governor and Mr. Roberts did commit to install a more open line of communication to the people in TCI by offering more regular news briefings and press releases, which will mainly be distributed through the media.
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