Turks and Caicos Islands

Politics:

• Analysis

  Turks and Caicos Islands politics: Quick View - Government wins crucial by-

  Event

  The ruling Progressive National Party (PNP) candidate, Amanda Misick, won a critical by-election victory for the four-month-old government of the premier, Rufus Ewing, on March 23rd. By retaining the seat, the government has preserved its slim one-seat majority in the legislature.

  Analysis

  Ms Misick garnered 52.2% of the votes cast against 45.8% for the candidate of the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP). The win means the PNP holds on to its narrow 8-7 seat majority in the House of Assembly (the legislature). The election arose owing to a court ruling that one of the candidates in the voting district was not eligible to stand at the November 9th 2012 general election owing to a dual- citizenship conflict.

  Support for the PNP in the latest poll was higher than in November's vote, giving the government a confidence boost. The result shows that the premier's recent combative stance towards the UK government has struck a chord among islanders disgruntled by the UK's intervention in the territory, which resulted in the suspension of elected government for three years. Mr Ewing has described as "corrupt" the action of UK authorities investigating allegations of misuse of office and fraud under the previous PNP government.

  However, the UK foreign secretary, William Hague, recently rebuked Mr Ewing for substantially misrepresenting the British government's actions and its relationship with the overseas territory. The rebuke came in a response to speeches by the TCI premier and in particular one made to a recent Caribbean Community (Caricom) summit in Haiti. The deterioration in relations has also raised the profile of a long- simmering debate on possible independence for the TCI.

  March 25, 2013

• Background

  Turks and Caicos Islands: Political forces

  The two main parties, the PDM and PNP, were formed in 1975 and 1980 respectively. A third party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), was set up in 1993 by a former PDM deputy leader, Wendal Swann. Both the 1999 and 2003 elections were dominated by the PDM and the PNP. In 1999 the PDM won its first seat in the former PNP stronghold of South Caicos, but it failed to retain the seat in the 2003 election.

  July 02, 2007

• Structure

  Turks and Caicos Islands: Political structure

  Official name

  Turks and Caicos Islands

  Form of state

  Representative government; UK Overseas Territory

  Head of state

  Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor

  The executive

  Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the House of Assembly, and the attorney-general

  Legislature

  Unicameral House of Assembly composed of 15 elected members, the three ex officio members of the Executive Council and three nominated members

  Legal system

  UK-style courts with final appeal to the UK Privy Council

  Elections

  General election November 9th, 2012; next general election due by January 2017

  Government

  The PNP holds eight of the 15 elected seats in the House of Assembly

  Main political organisations

  Government: Progressive National Party (PNP)

  Opposition: People's Democratic Movement (PDM)

  Governor: Damian Roderic Todd

  Deputy governor: Anya Williams

  Main members of the Executive Council

  Premier & minister of trade and investment: Rufus Ewing

  Deputy premier & minister of education, youth, sports and culture: Akierra Misick

  Key ministers

  Attorney-general: Huw Shephard

  Finance & tourism: Charles Misick

  Environment & home affairs: Porsha Stubbs-Smith

  Health & human services: Amanda ANisha Misick

  Border control & labour: Ricardo Don-Hue Gardiner

  Government support services: George Lightbourne

  January 15, 2013

Economy:

• Background

  Turks and Caicos Islands: Population

  The 2001 census put the population of the islands at 20,014. There are an estimated 8,700 living on Providenciales (including West Caicos), 5,900 on Grand Turk, 2,000 on North Caicos, and 1,900 on South and West Caicos. In 2003 the population was estimated at 22,100, although this does not take account of migrant workers. In 2000 there were an estimated 5,000-6,000 immigrants from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, who work mainly in tourism and construction. No more recent figures are available, but illegal Haitian immigration has become a sensitive domestic political issue. Historically, there has been a flow of emigration from the islands, mainly to the US and the Bahamas, although economic growth in Providenciales resulted in a net return during the 1990s. Since the mid-1980s net migration within the islands has been towards Providenciales.

  July 02, 2007

• Structure

  Turks and Caicos Islands: Economic structure

  Economic structure: Annual indicators

  	2008b	2009b	2010b	2011b	2012b
  Population ('000)	36.6	38.4	40.4	42.4	44.5
  GDP at market prices (US$ m)	865.1	709.2	729.9	784.2	792.8
  Real GDP growth (%)	2.9	-19.6	1.0	4.1	1.1
  Average inflation (%)	6.2	1.5	2.0	1.9	3.2
  Merchandise exports (US$ m; fob)	24.8a	20.8	15.7	16.1	16.3
  Merchandise imports (US$ m; cif)	591.3a	520.5	302.0	355.0	358.6
  Net services (US$ m)	135.0	105.0	105.0	105.0	110.0
  Stopover tourist arrivals ('000)	272.8a	231.9	215.0	220.0	250.0
  The currency is the US dollar. a Actual. b Economist Intelligence Unit estimate.

  Download the numbers in Excel

  Origins of gross domestic product, 2007	% of total	Components of gross domestic product, 2007	% of total
  Hotels & restaurants	29.2	Consumption	72.6
  Financial intermediation	11.1	Gross domestic investment	47.4
  Construction	11.5	Exports of goods & services	63.1
  Transport & communication	8.3	Imports of goods & services	-83.0
  Real estate	7.9
  Public administration	5.3
  Utilities	4.0
  Agriculture & fishing	0.9
  Manufacturing	1.6
  Mining & quarrying	0.9
  Other services	19.3

  Download the numbers in Excel

  Download text file (csv format)

  January 15, 2013

• Outlook

  Turks and Caicos Islands: Country outlook

  Turks and Caicos Islands: Country outlook

  FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

  OVERVIEW: On August 14th 2009 the UK government partially suspended the constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Full executive and ministerial power rests with the UK-appointed governor, Damian Roderic Todd, with the suspension of self-governance extended indefinitely in September 2010. New and amended legislation for the TCI has been proposed to address deficiencies in the legal framework. An international arrest warrant was issued on March 19th for a former premier, Michael Misick (2003-09). In the first nine months of fiscal year 2011/12 (April-March), the fiscal accounts recorded a current deficit of US$19.9m.

  DOMESTIC POLITICS: An EU-funded white paper summarising proposed new and amended legislation for the TCI was released for public consultation in late February. The proposals will lead to new laws to address deficiencies in the legal framework-one of the requirements set by the UK for returning government to locally elected officials (a move that is unlikely to take place before 2013). It will also ensure that laws conform to international treaties and conventions. The project's stated goal is to review more than 100 pieces of legislation to produce around 40 "legislative instruments" intended to raise public-sector management standards and restore economic viability and good governance to the TCI. Laws governing the public service will correct weak managerial structures and disciplinary procedures, the white paper says. Labour and industrial relations law also need substantial reform because weaknesses and contradictions in current law result in many labour lawsuits. Other legislative areas set to undergo a major overhaul include: immigration and human-trafficking; regulation of crown land; an improved land registry; juvenile justice, the rights of the child and adoption; family law and domestic violence law. Improvements to environmental law, including public health, agriculture and aquaculture, are also under review. The white paper suggests the creation of an Environmental Protection Agency and an upgrade of laws involving health issues such as food safety and solid waste management.

  INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: An international arrest warrant was issued on March 19th for Mr Misick. The British-government-appointed Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) announced the warrant after Mr Misick repeatedly failed to submit himself to questioning with respect to allegations of corruption and money-laundering during his time in office. A 2009 UK Commission of Inquiry had found evidence of widespread corruption or malfeasance in office by Mr Misick, some of his fellow ministers and others, which led to the suspension of the TCI's constitution and government. The SIPT has so far charged 13 people with corruption. In response to the announcement, Mr Misick issued a statement saying that he is seeking asylum in an unnamed country (thought to be the Dominican Republic), owing to "political persecution" of those that supported him and his Progressive National Party. Mr Misick claims that he is unable to obtain a fair trial while elected government is suspended.

  POLICY TRENDS: Fiscal consolidation is not taking place as quickly as projected. In the first nine months of 2011/12, the fiscal accounts recorded a current deficit of US$19.9m. Although this was down by US$33.5m on the year-earlier period, it was US$7.4m higher than projected in the budget. Government revenue for the first nine months rose by 39% year on year to US$119m, slightly ahead of budget projections. Import duties, which account for nearly one-third of total revenue, rose by 9% year on year, to US$35m, but this was still 2.1% below budget. However, above budget customs processing fees and accommodation tax earnings helped to offset underperformance on import duties. The former came in 9% above budget in the period; the latter grew by an impressive 35%, reflecting stronger tourist arrivals, and came in 26% above budget. But offsetting this good performance, total expenditure of US$138.4m came in 7.5% above budget in April-December. Spending on personnel, which accounts for around 35% of total spending, was down by 5% year on year and close to the budget target. Official projections for the full fiscal year suggest a widening of the fiscal deficit to around US$38m for 2011/12, including an additional US$14m of unbudgeted healthcare costs.

  ECONOMIC GROWTH: The 2012/13 budget-setting process has suffered a two-month delay, reflecting the time taken to appoint new permanent secretaries and carry out a restructuring of the five main ministries. Budget projections are also being adjusted for costs and savings arising from a civil service voluntary severance plan. The TCI administration will send a draft budget to the British government for approval by around April 19th. The TCI Advisory Council and TCI Consultative Forum (both bodies created to provide channels of consultation in the absence of a sitting government) will consider the budget in May with a target date for approval by the governor of May 23rd. Despite the widening of the deficit in 2011/12, authorities anticipate improvements in 2012/13 on the back of continued revenue growth from the tourism sector, tax enforcement efforts and improved collection of immigration and customs duties. A new value-added tax will also take effect from April 2013 and as such no other new tax measures are being contemplated in the upcoming budget. Achieving a budget surplus in 2012/13 is one of the milestones set by the UK for returning control of the country to elected officials. It was also a requirement for the UK's US$260m loan guarantee that is being used to meet existing debt repayments and finance the budget deficit.

  EXTERNAL ACCOUNT: Rising historic liabilities are proving a major challenge to fiscal consolidation. The biggest drain on the government accounts continues to be healthcare costs, which have soared since the National Health Insurance Programme was created by the former elected government. A large proportion of these costs relate to overseas medical expenses from a former Treatment Abroad Programme, which is still subject to legal action.

  April 03, 2012

View detailed map

Country Briefing

Land area

948 sq km

Population

36,605 (2008, official estimate)

Climate

Sub-tropical

Weather in Grand Turk (altitude 3 metres)

Hottest month, August, 26-32°C; coldest months, January-February, 21-27°C (average daily minimum and maximum); driest month, March, 29 mm average rainfall; wettest month, October, 114 mm average rainfall

Language

English

Measures

Imperial system

Fiscal year

April-March

Currency

US dollar

Time

5 hours behind GMT

Public holidays

January 1st; Good Friday; Easter Monday; May 26th (Commonwealth Day); third Monday in June (sovereign's official birthday); August 1st (Emancipation Day); August 9th; October 13th (Columbus Day); October 24th (International Human Rights Day); December 25th-26th

January 15, 2013