OT 292: Letter to the Chairman from the United Kingdom Representative

of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Office

 

 

The Turks and Caicos Islands

 

I am writing to you again to update you on recent events in the Turks and Caicos Islands and to give you the latest information about the ongoing Commission of Inquiry. You will recall that we previously wrote to you on this issue during the summer.

 

You may also be aware that the annual Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC) will be taking place in London on October 29th and 30th. The Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Hon Dr Michael E. Misick, together with senior representatives of our Government will be in London during the week commencing 27th October. Within the auspices of the OTCC, we are meeting with Her Majesty's Government, including the new FCO Minister with responsibility for the Overseas Territories, Gillian Merron MP.

 

Hurricane Ike and Tropical Storm Hanna

 

As you will be aware, the Turks and Caicos Islands sustained considerable damage with the impact of Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike which occurred in quick succession between 1 September and 7 September 2008.

 

These events brought distress to our people and upheaval to our economy. We suffered considerable damage to property and infrastructure in our tourism industry, to our education facilities, transport links and electrical and telecommunications utilities. The islands of Grand Turk, Salt Cay and South Caicos were particularly badly hit, with an estimated 80% of roofs lost to homes on the affected islands. Preliminary estimates placed the value of loss to the Government and wider community at around US$200 million.

 

The immediate response phase has now been largely completed. Although conditions, especially the breakdown in communications outside Providenciales, were difficult to manage, the basic objective of stabilisation was achieved. People had water, food and shelter. The Government Disaster Management structure, other Government agencies, the churches and voluntary sector, notably the Red Cross, and the private sector all played their part. The Royal Navy and the Bermuda Regiment, played valuable supporting roles in the immediate response phase, as did a number of international agencies, including the United Nations, regional organisations such as the Caribbean Regional Disaster Assistance Agency, the UK's Department for International Development, the International and UK Red Cross and the US Coastguard, who contributed funds or logistic support.

 

Work continues, however. Electricity lines are not fully connected and telephone landlines have not been restored. We have had to prioritise our efforts to ensure that hospitals, schools and airports were reconnected to the electricity network as soon as possible. Much of the debris has been cleared, government offices are now open; banks reopened barely a week after the hurricane; and people are trying to get on with their lives and rebuild our community and our economy.

 

However, the complete rehabilitation of buildings and infrastructure destroyed or damaged by the hurricanes will take a much longer time to achieve. In the Cayman Islands, for example, the National Recovery Fund is still considering applications for support four years after Hurricane Ivan struck. We hope that this process does not take that long and there are some grounds for optimism.

 

Significant parts of the TCI escaped relatively lightly. Although there has been some damage in Providenciales, as there has been in all of the islands, the main economic and population centre of the TCI was reopening for business within hours of the hurricane.

 

We are now moving into the recovery and rehabilitation phase. A UN ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) team have been in the islands to assess the full economic cost of Hanna and Ike and should provide a full report very shortly. This will help inform Government action in the months to come and help us to understand the precise levels of financial support we may need for rehabilitating those areas most badly hit.

 

Commission of Inquiry

 

In spite of this upheaval, the Commission of Inquiry into possible corruption or other serious dishonesty in recent years concerning past or present elected members of the legislature in the Turks and Caicos Islands continues its work. You will recall that this was established in July by the Governor, upon the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and following the Foreign Affairs Committee's report on the Overseas Territories.

 

Members of the Government are cooperating fully with this investigation and providing information as the Commission requests. All parts of the Government will continue to assist the Commission, as much and as quickly, as possible.

 

Although the Commission has recently indicated that the timetable for publication of its findings will now slip into February 2009, rather than November 2008 as first envisaged, our Government's position remains that this kind of exercise is unhelpful and potentially harmful given the priorities we have to focus on. Further, the Commission effectively bypasses the mechanisms and legislation we already have in place in our Islands and represents a burden on our resources at a very difficult time in our Islands' history.

 

The key issue facing the Turks and Caicos Islands Government at this time is to secure Her Majesty's Government's agreement to grant assistance to the Turks and Caicos Islands, most likely through DFID, or to at least give approval for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government to borrow funds. The purpose of these funds would be to put into place assistance programs, so that those affected by the Hurricane can obtain a loan or grant assistance from our Government.

 

We would be very happy to meet you to discuss these issues in more detail during the week commencing 27th October.

 

 

17 October 2008