Britain has a legal (or “superior”) responsibility to fix the TCI

Indeed, a few of them actually alluded to FCO Minister Meg Munn’s extraordinary declaration recently that her department was not aware of any wrongdoing that warranted serious investigation, let alone prosecution. Never mind that her declaration prompted a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC), which was investigating the FCO’s performance of its oversight duties, to exclaim that he was “shocked and appalled” at the salutary neglect Munn and other FCO officials have demonstrated towards the TCI.

But regular readers of this weblog will no doubt recall my commentary on this FAC investigation, dated 31 March 2008, in which I noted the following:

Alas, outrage is not sufficient to hold TCI government officials accountable for their corrupt practices. If it were, the disaffected, disillusioned and disgusted people of the TCI would have done so long ago. Instead, we need the British to honour their constitutional obligations to us by convening a commission of inquiry – not only to investigate the vast scope of these allegations but also to recover public funds that have been misappropriated.

Because only such a commission would have the authority to conduct the forensic examination of bank accounts, sales of Crown Lands, and business transactions that have given probable cause to suspect that Premier Michael Misick and his cabinet ministers are ruling over us like African Kleptomaniacs.

At any rate, I’m reliably informed that the FAC will issue its final report within weeks. And, frankly, I too am wondering whether TCI government officials will prove to be as indifferent to (and immune from) prosecution for corruption as they seem. Whether the FAC will recommend a commission of inquiry to hold them to account or merely recommend new measures to tighten FCO oversight, however, is anybody’s guess.

(All the same, I feel obliged to reiterate the admonition I issued in an Open Letter to British PM Gordon Brown, dated 8 March 2008, namely, that enacting new measures to combat corruption in the TCI now is rather like a fox locking the door to the hen house after he has eaten all of the hens.)

Meanwhile, these government officials are dealing with their political and legal jeopardy by launching a fatuous campaign to blame those of us who have criticized their corrupt practices for chilling investor confidence in the TCI. Perhaps you recall how Premier Hon. Michael Misick took to the floor of parliament during the recent budget debate and blamed me for bankrupting the country. Now his deputy, Hon. Floyd Hall, has followed suit this week by deflecting blame on the editors of The TCI Journal as follows:

They cannot be patriotic and actions (sic) must be perceived as an attempt to cripple the country at large…. I love my country and want it to prosper but the bad press is definitely a turn off and I know for a fact there is a downturn in the investors (sic).

However, my ostensibly concerned compatriots should appreciate (and our British overseers should beware) that I’ve been criticizing the UK government almost as much as I’ve been criticizing TCI government for the mismanagement and corruption that have undermined the benefits of investing in our country. In fact, as the quote from my FAC report indicates, the British must accept contingent liability for all of the foreseeable losses (in tourism receipts and foreign investments) that stem from their failure to ensure good governance in the TCI.

Specifically, here, in part, is how I proffered Britain’s legal (or “superior”) responsibility to fix the TCI:

Whatever the extent of their ill-gotten gains, however, it shall redound to British officials’ liability and shame that they have allowed TCI officials to perpetrate such brazen fraud and abuse. Indeed, just imagine the irony of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe having just cause to tell British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to clean up corruption in his own territory before lecturing him about good governance.

Frankly, a commission of inquiry is long overdue….

But, in case anyone doubts my counsel in this respect, Hon. Ian Davidson MP, member of the British House of Commons Committee on Public Accounts, highlighted this point when he asked the following during an Oral Evidence Session on Monday, 10 December 2007:

Can I just ask about this question of weak regulation and the impact upon the United Kingdom’s reputation and financial liability if the regulators were not adequate in … Turks and Caicos, and we were then sued in some way?

And, when the answer to this question only exacerbated his concern, Mr. Davidson issued the following warning:

The standards of supervision in [the TCI is] presently inadequate and you are allowing that to continue, leaving the United Kingdom at risk, not only of reputational damage but also of financial liabilities.

Not to mention that Premier Misick implicates the British government in his misdeeds every time he blithely asserts that there’s no corruption in the TCI because the British governor signed off on everything….

It would be tantamount to ignoring the big white elephant in the room if I did not acknowledge HE Governor Richard Tauwhare’s dereliction of duties that have contributed to our national woes. After all, it would have required his complicity or tacit approval for the Premier to commit many of these alleged political and fiduciary crimes.

[Throwing Premier Misick overboard is necessary to save the TCI, The iPINIONS Journal, 5 October 2007]

Therefore, it behooves the British to appreciate that investigating all allegations of corruption against this TCI government, in a transparent manner, is not only in our national interest but in theirs as well.

Finally, I sympathize with all TCIslanders, expats, and people around the world who are concerned about the mercenary way in which this government is developing our national parks and reserves. But I feel constrained to disabuse all of you of any notion that the British give a damn.

After all, it is patently, even if painfully, clear that, despite preaching environmental conservation to others around the world, the British have condoned everything from the dredging of our coral reefs to build “Star Island” as a playground for hedonistic celebrities to the pending destruction of more reefs to develop a high-end resort on Salt Cay, which we need in the TCI like a CAT-5 hurricane.

Alas, the only legal way to halt and redress these crimes against the environment is by regime change in the political leadership of our country.

The only credible way to bring about this change is to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate and prosecute the leaders who have perpetrated these (and other) alleged crimes.

And, the only determined way to bring about this inquiry is to convince the British beyond all doubt that, if they do not establish one, we shall hold them liable – politically, legally and financially – not only for the misappropriation of our public funds but also for the mismanagement of our natural resources.

Related Articles:
Special report on FAC investigation into corruption in TCI
Open Letter to British PM Gordon Brown
TCI Premier blames me for bankrupting the country
Throwing Premier Misick overboard is necessary to save the TCI