Britain will (indeed must) order a commission of enquiry for the TCI -The iPINIONS Journal

We need the British to honour their constitutional obligations to us by convening a commission of enquiry – not only to investigate the vast scope of these allegations but also to recover public funds that have been embezzled or misappropriated.

(“Commission of enquiry on corruption looms for the TCI,” The iPINIONS Journal, March 31, 2008)

There has been a great deal of debate lately about whether or not the British Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) will recommend a commission of enquiry to investigate allegations of government corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Thankfully, the FAC will finally settle this question tomorrow with the release of advance copies of its evidence report.

Either way, the consequences for members of the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP) and for our country could not be more grave.

After all, if the FAC recommends an enquiry, this will be tantamount to an indictment against Premier Hon. Michael Misick and his ministers on criminal charges that could lead not only to forfeiture of their ill-gotten gains but also to prison for many of them.

(Never mind that, to prosecute these alleged crimes properly, the British might have to put our country into receivership … again.)

On the other hand, if the FAC fails to recommend an enquiry, the Premier and others – who have been lording over us like African kleptomaniacs – will feel vindicated and thereby emboldened to continue their mismanagement and misappropriation of our national resources.

Of course, I have left no doubt in commentaries over the past year that I believe an enquiry is not only warranted but actually long overdue. And even though some of my critics have accused me of fomenting wishful thinking in this respect, I’ve been diligent in documenting why this enquiry is almost as necessary to redeem the integrity of the British government as it is to investigate corruption in the TCI government.

It shall redound to British officials’ [contingent] liability and shame that they have allowed TCI officials to perpetrate such brazen fraud and abuse. Indeed, just imagine the irony of President Robert Mugabe having just cause to tell Prime Minister Gordon Brown to clean up corruption in his own British territory before lecturing him about good governance in Zimbabwe.

(“Commission on Enquiry on corruption looms for TCI,” The iPINIONS Journal, March 31, 2008)

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….

(“Britain has a legal (or superior) responsibility to fix the TCI,” Caribbean Net News, June 19, 2008)

Incidentally, just in case the British need more proof that an enquiry is warranted, the European Union dispatched a forensic accountant to the TCI last week to conduct a routine public expenditure and financial accounting assessment. And I’m reliably informed that she found financial governance in the TCI so bereft of any generally recognized principles of accounting that she’s likely to advise the EU to withhold a 3^rd tranche disbursement of around €6 million (US$9.5 million) to our government.

Therefore, when all is said and done, I am convinced that the FAC will recommend a commission of enquiry.

I caution all members of the ruling PNP to consider carefully whether blind loyalty to this Premier is worth risking their careers, if not their freedom, for….

PNPers can rest assured that no matter how many kickback schemes or shady land deals they may have transacted (especially involving the promiscuous granting and selling of irredeemable Crown Lands), doing the right thing now will likely reduce their liability to a misdemeanor.

(“Alas, throwing Premier Misick overboard is necessary to save the TCI,” The iPINIONS Journal, October 5, 2007)

Accordingly, I feel obliged to reiterate my admonition for any TCI government official who has used his office to enrich himself unjustly, or for anyone who has benefited from a TCI land transaction that he knew or should have known reeks of fraud, to seek a plea bargain with British authorities – before it’s too late!

In addition, I hereby restate my (pro bono) offer to facilitate such a plea on behalf of anyone facing legal jeopardy in this respect.

Meanwhile, apropos being held responsible for poor governance and corruption in the TCI, I am also convinced that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will have much to answer for.

Indeed, it might surprise many to learn that the FAC will be reporting as much on the failures of the FCO to discharge its duty to ensure good governance in all Overseas Territories as on the probable cause to investigate corruption in our country. And nothing demonstrates the need to hold the FCO to account quite like the damning revelation outgoing TCI Governor Richard Tauwhare made last week.

The Governor stunned the nation by disclosing that – as early as October 2005 – he had such compelling evidence of government corruption that he appealed to his superiors at the FCO to convene a commission of enquiry. He then conveyed the incredulity he felt when the FCO rejected his appeal – insisting that there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

(Alas, this revelation smacked of a patent attempt by Tauwhare to cover his ass. After all, the FCO conceded in testimony before the FAC that, just like the Governor of the Cayman Islands, Tauwhare is (and was back then) vested by local ordinance with the power to “appoint commissioners to inquire into the conduct and management of any public body, the conduct of any public officer, or into any matter whatsoever which is, in his opinion, of public importance.”)

At any rate, I can think of nothing more appropriate to say about the FCO’s salutary neglect than to echo the disgust FAC committee member Sir John Stanley expressed. Because he said that he was “shocked and appalled” at the way the FCO “fobbed off” its duties and responsibilities by systematically turning a blind eye to mounting evidence of mismanagement and corruption in the TCI with the refrain “This is not a matter for the Foreign Office.”

Hence, it is incumbent upon the FAC to honor parliamentary accountability by ordering an enquiry. Because only a transparent prosecution of the alleged mismanagement and corruption at issue will restore trust amongst TCIslanders in our government. Not to mention restoring trust amongst foreign investors (of more sterling character) who are needed to provide the foundation for sustainable development in our country.

Finally, to encourage as much cooperation as possible, I urge the British to vest the appointed commissioners with operational powers to fully execute their mandate. These should include the power to conduct forensic examination of all transactions involving Crown Lands over the past five years (or more if suspicion warrants); the power to conduct forensic examination of all activity in the bank accounts of all government officials over this same period, and the power to grant cooperating witnesses immunity from prosecution.

Let heads begin to roll….

NOTE: Once the FAC recommends a commission on enquiry, I suspect many TCIslanders will be anxious to know details about its procedures and time frame for execution. But these commissions are inherently organic and I doubt even the appointed commissioners will be able to provide reliable information in these respects.

Therefore, I beg all of you to be patient (as the FAC Report works its way through the British parliamentary process) and allow justice in this case to take its course – with all deliberate speed.

ENDNOTE: Many TCI residents have e-mailed me asking why our erstwhile globe-trotting Premier now seems grounded in the TCI. Perhaps this quote from one of my previous articles will provide some insight:

When rape allegations against the Premier first surfaced, I advised him to stay far away from the United States because he would surely be arrested. And the last thing our people need is to see yet another TCI leader being hauled off from Miami International Airport in handcuffs.

(“Premier Misick blames me for bankrupting the TCI?” The iPINIONS Journal, April 25, 2008; “TCI Premier Misick accused of Rape,” Caribbean Net News, April 11, 2008)

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