Cess pool.

At one point Misick compared Governor Wetherell to a known racist, finally saying the Governor himself was a racist dictator. The Speaker told the former premier he was out of order and must retract this statement. Misick refused to retract it. He was told to sit down but after a few seconds’ pause he was allowed to continue. Late in his speech he told the House that the reason opposition Member of Parliament Douglas Parnell supported the British takeover was because his white father was British. This caused quite a stir.

The Special Committee of 24 defines self-determination as free association with an independent State, integration into an independent State, or full-bore independence.  The UK argues that a 1970 UN resolution (Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations also makes clear that “any other political status freely determined by a people constitute modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people.”

In addition to again calling for Puerto Rican independence, the Special Committee of 24 are also working on the perennial “omnibus” draft resolution entitled “Questions of American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands”.

Interestingly, the committee seems to recommended the recall of the Constitution of the Turks & Caicos in the face of TCI’s current political crisis, welcoming the UK’s efforts to restore good governance and sound financial management there.

This is their Cake.  And they are Eating It Too.

Our own Dr. Brown has perplexingly tied his boat to the discredited PNP administrations of Michael Misick and Galmo Williams.  It is surprising that he would choose to spend his political capital in this way.

It appears that the Misick glitz has long ago lost its lustre.  At a large church service this week:

At that point, Ellis became political and said that this country has shown a lot of progress since then and “we cannot let the Commission of Inquiry ‘Stop the Progress’”, which was a repeat of the PNP campaign slogan of 2007. “We all have leprosy,” Ellis was heard to say, referring to the population of the TCI, but only Misick is being singled out, he said.

At that point, large groups of people were seen on TV walking out and the cameras momentarily caught the large exodus then turned away. However, Bishop Ellis shouted in front of the camera admonishing those leaving calling them “Sissies and punks.” Then he turned to the remainder of the crowd, telling them, “Go on all you sissies and punks, get out, get out!”

Update:  The TCI Governor acknowledged receipt the report, and said that an announcement would be made within 3 weeks regarding its public release and commencement of the interim government.

Many have asked why he is taking this stance, and how Bermuda stands to benefit from this expenditure of political capital?

After all, the latest news out of TCI is that up to 500 witnesses supplied information that may be used in prosecutions – shedding light into the scale of the problems there.

The PLP was quick to jump on UBP stalwart Quinton Edness’ editorial on the matter, which questioned the propriety of the UK’s actions in TCI.

Mr. Edness has now followed up on his original letter:

May 6, 2009

Dear Sir,

You may recall that I recently published on the 22nd April an opinion on what I called, “the constitutional disruption that occurred in The Turks and Caicos Islands by the British Government”. While agreeing it was urgently necessary to do something about the situation that prevailed in TCI, I blamed the British Government for the manner in which I thought they went about it. I was wrong.

My main concern was that the democratic process in Turks and Caicos be preserved. I also felt it was not necessary to amend the constitution by order in council because the British Government had the authority to act under the present TCI constitution. However the information that I had received which led me to accuse the British Government of sacking the Premier and others and dissolving Parliament was incorrect.

Our Governor Sir Richard Gozney sent me a very informative letter, graciously written, correcting the inaccuracies that I wrote. I am very grateful to him for taking the time to do so. I have spoken to him subsequently, and asked his permission to publish his letter so that all can see where I went wrong, and at the same time have a better understanding of the approach the British Government is taking to resolve the very difficult and complex issues in Turks and Caicos.

The following is Sir Richard’s letter:

“22 April 2009

The Hon. Quinton L. Edness, CBE, JP, Warwick

Dear Quinton (if I may),

I was interested to read your article in The Royal Gazette on 22 April. The situation in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is indeed sad, regrettable and cause for much concern. You recognise in your article, rightly, that something had to be done following the shocking disclosures that surfaced during the work of the Commission of Inquiry. But I hope that you will not take it amiss if I explain some inaccuracies in your article.

The British Government has not sacked the Premier of the TCI, nor anyone else. Premier Misick was ousted by his former Cabinet colleague, Galmo Williams, who launched a successful bid to replace him as Premier, winning on 28 February an election for the leadership of the PNP. This followed several weeks of turmoil within the PNP, generated in part by disquiet at the evidence given before the Commission of Inquiry.

The TCI House of Assembly has not been dissolved by the Governor. It sat earlier this month for the first time after being prorogued three months earlier by ex-Premier Misick, apparently to avoid the risk of a vote of no confidence in his government.

Unless the Commissioner’s final report, now due to be submitted on or before 31 May, significantly changes the current assessment of the situation by the UK government and the Governor, the Order in Council to suspend parts of the Constitution will then be brought into fore shortly after the final report is received. This would not be a shift to indefinite direct rule, rather a targeted intervention lasting no longer than it would take for essential reforms to be implemented.

During the period of the suspension, the Governor would consult with the people of the TCI through the bodies described in the Order in Council which would be established to replace the Cabinet and the House of Assembly.

This action would not be taken lightly and the significance of it is fully appreciated by both the Governor and the UK government; but it is deemed necessary to restore the principles of good governance in the TCI.

I hope we have this chance to meet again soon.

Yours sincerely,

Richard H T Gozney”

I accept Sir Richard’s comments to be the true position taken by the British Government which I now regard as sensitive to the preservation of the democratic process and respectful to the people of TCI. I therefore wish to retract the remarks I made about the British Government especially the condemnation of it that I made.

I apologise and wish them every good wish in their efforts to help the people of Turks and Caicos.

THE HONOURABLE QUINTON L.EDNESS CBE, JP, Warwick

Here’s a clue.

In a speech to the UK Parliament on April 23, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Gillian Merron said the British Government has instructed Governors in the overseas territories to review the TCI commission interim report and to ensure a thorough assessment of any systematic controls that need improvement in their territory.

“From my discussions with representatives of the territories, I am in no doubt about how exercised they themselves are about the report on Turks and Caicos Islands [shout out to Dr. B!]  Because they wish to keep their reputation, I hope that we can use the report to great benefit across the overseas territories.”

“We have also revised the requirements on those being appointed to governorship to ensure that they have the right capabilities for the job and that they are clear about their responsibilities for good governance. We have also made it clear—I hope that this will be welcome—that Governors who raise concerns about good governance will have support from the FCO.”

Merron said it is right that territory Governments should take the majority of decisions in the territories because that is the nature of the modern relationship. She added however, that it is also true that the British Government expects and demands the highest standards of governance in return.

The man doth protest too much, I think.

“the dissolution of the [Turks & Caicos] government by the UK was the main subject of discussion at the Fifth Summit of the Americas this weekend.”

After all, the scandal-ridden TCI was not on the agenda at the regional summit, leading the Premier’s Chief of Staff to tone down the claim:

“It was discussed during personal conversations between leaders.”

I am sure that’s true as pictures from the event show the Premier hangin’ out with the embattled TCI leadership.

And now TCI media seem to indicate that it was our Dr. Brown who was trying to inject TCI into discussions around the summit.  Personal agendas?

I wish he had stuck to working for Bermudians’ benefit rather than playing cheerleader for the discredited TCI administration.

Ewart Brown said the dissolution of the British Overseas Territory’s government by the UK was the main subject of discussion at the Fifth Summit of the Americas this weekend.

Hmm, well, maybe not.  The main subject of discussion at the Fifth Summit of the Americas was Cuba, Cuba, Cuba.

Moreover, the Premier avoids mentioning the breathtaking allegations of corruption and mismanagement in TCI.  Yes, the British intervention is harsh – but so is the situation faced by the Turk’s citizens.

It’s worrying that the Premier would attend a high profile event like the Summit and this is all he has to offer: his personal agenda rather than a report of how he sought to represent Bermuda’s interests.

Best quote on the TCI intervention comes from the TCI chief minister’s disillusioned ex-bodyguard:

“It’s like a blocked toilet.  You have to flush all the **** out to get it working properly again.”

“Mr. Misick, who was the guest of honour of the Progressive Labour Party at their annual banquet in 2003, where he encouraged the PLP to be all inclusive and operate on principles of integrity.”

Ooops.  That’s pretty ironic!

It seems that the many governance shortcuts that have been taken in pursuit of rapid growth have seriously undermined the country and, in effect, created a failed state.

A consultative council will be formed to advise the Governor on the needed reforms.

“The Commissioner states that the written information obtained in the first six months of the Commission’s inquiries, when coupled with the evidence in the public hearings in TCI earlier this year, have provided information in abundance pointing to a high probability of systemic corruption or other serious dishonesty. In his view this, together with “clear signs of political amorality and immaturity and general administrative incompetence”, has demonstrated a need for the urgent suspension in whole or in part of the Constitution, and for other legislative and administrative reforms and change…”

“As drafted, the Order would leave in place important elements of the Constitution such as the fundamental rights chapter and provisions relating to the Governor, the courts and the public service, while removing the Cabinet, House of Assembly and references to ministerial and related powers. Powers and functions currently exercised by Ministers would be exercised by the Governor acting in his discretion, including in relation to public finances, legislation and necessary regulatory reforms…”

“I can confirm that consideration is being given to the establishment of a special civil recovery team, and the need to bolster the capacity of the police and to appoint a special prosecutor to undertake prosecutions which may be warranted in keeping with any evidence of criminality which may be disclosed by it [the final report].”

The Commission’s interim report may be found here. It’s breathtaking.

The report includes recommendations to pursue criminal deals that may have taken place, a integrity in public life law, requirements for ongoing scrutiny of political financing, greater emphasis on audit and audit timeliness, and ziiiiiing widening the franchise to include long term residents, etc.

This is the second time in 23 years that the TCI constitution has been suspended.