Turks and Caicos to take govt reins from Britain
by Vivian Tyson

The Associated Press    Translate This Article
9 November 2012

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos (AP) - The Turks and Caicos Islands prepared to govern itself for the first time in three years as voters in the British territory elected a new government Friday.

The vote marked the end of Britain's three-year direct rule over the territory following an inquiry into rampant corruption that led to the 2009 resignation of former jet-setting Premier Michael Misick.

Misick had angered many with his lavish lifestyle that included two private jets on call and a Hollywood actress wife, but islanders in recent years began demanding that Britain give back the reins to a local government.

'It is good to know that we are returning to controlling our own affairs,' said 21-year-old hotel waiter Rico Forbes. 'Today would be the day. I am really thankful.'

He was among hundreds of voters going to polling stations to choose a premier and 15 legislators for Parliament. Some people waited in line for up to four hours, election officials said.

Among the 37 candidates running for office was Dr. Rufus Ewing of the Progressive National Party, who sought to become premier. He ran against former Premier Oswald Skippings of the People's Democratic Movement.

Results weren't expected until early Saturday, with election officials estimating that the majority of the island's 7,377 registered voters participated.

William Hague, Britain's foreign secretary, said he believes the Turks and Caicos Islands has a solid enough foundation to return to an elected government.

'This is a significant step,' he said. The election 'heralds the islands' return to a democratic government.'

Britain took control of the territory in August 2009 following a corruption inquiry that uncovered Misick's lavish spending after taking office in 2003.

Misick has denied any wrongdoing and remains a fugitive. He's believed to be living in the Dominican Republic. At least 13 people were charged with corruption, and British investigators recovered about $12 million in assets and 900 acres of land.

In 2011, the Turks and Caicos Islands received a $417 million bailout from Britain, and the government is currently operating on a budget that Britain hopes will lead to a $20 million surplus next year. The island had a $26 million deficit this past fiscal year, which Britain said was an improvement from the $70 million deficit the previous year.

On Thursday, the island's first auditor general was appointed to lead the newly formed audit office. However, Britain will retain significant control over the island's public finances, a reality that still bothers many people.

'I feel elated that the country is going back to local rule, but at the same time it is a bittersweet feeling because we are still in the shackles of the British government, ' said Derek Hall, a 38-year-old hotel worker. 'Even though they said that we are free to conduct our own affairs, we will still have people breathing down our necks.'

To help prepare for the transition, the islands' British governor appointed five permanent secretaries in January to help reform the island's public sector. They were ordered to focus on education, health, infrastructure and the economy.

About 31,000 people live in the islands, which are about 500 miles (800 kilometers) southeast of Florida.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Every day Global Good News documents the rise of a better quality of life dawning in the world from good news reported by the press; and highlights the need for introducing Natural Law based-Total Knowledge based-programmes to bring the support of Nature to every individual, raise the quality of life of every society, and create a lasting state of world peace.



Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:

(Google) Select a language English to Afrikaans English to Albanian English to Arabic English to Belarusian English to Bulgarian English to Catalan English to Chinese (Simplified) English to Chinese (Traditional) English to Croatian English to Czech English to Danish English to Dutch English to Estonian English to Filipino English to Finnish English to French English to Galician English to German English to Greek English to Hebrew English to Hindi English to Hungarian English to Icelandic English to Indonesian English to Irish English to Italian English to Japanese English to Korean English to Latvian English to Lithuanian English to Macedonian English to Malay English to Maltese English to Norwegian English to Persian English to Polish English to Portuguese English to Romanian English to Russian English to Serbian English to Slovak English to Slovenian English to Spanish English to Swahili English to Swedish English to Thai English to Turkish English to Ukrainian English to Vietnamese English to Welsh English to Yiddish

(Altavista babelfish) Select a languageEnglish to Chinese-simpEnglish to Chinese-tradEnglish to DutchEnglish to PortugueseEnglish to FrenchEnglish to GermanEnglish to GreekEnglish to ItalianEnglish to JapaneseEnglish to KoreanEnglish to RussianEnglish to Spanish

Send Good News to Global Good News.

Your comments.