TCI: Hon. Josephine Connolly’s Press Statement on Service Charge

#Providenciales, December 4, 2018 – Turks and Caicos – I would first like to say how sorry I am for the resort workers who were expecting the promised increase in the service charge before Christmas.

The announcement that the service charge bill was not being implemented because the government needed “to make any required legislative clarifications by way of amendments to avoid ambiguity” must have been a crushing blow to all resort workers just before Christmas.

When the bill was before the House of Assembly in September 2018, I was the only member present who did not vote for the bill because as I said in my speech “in my view this ordinance is ill-considered, fatally flawed and appears to have been prepared in haste to boost the falling ratings of a deeply unpopular government.”

For the crime of speaking my mind and voting my conscience I was publicly pilloried by the government’s Amen choir, my political career was consigned to the dustbin and my intelligence and loyalty to my people questioned.

I accepted the criticism because I believe that as an elected member it is important to say what our people need to hear, which is not always what people want to hear.

The government has now admitted that  the bill was flawed, but I take no pleasure in being proved right.  The government’s failure with the service charge bill at the half way point of their term is symptomatic of the first two years of this government.

The service charge was the one and only election promise that this government has tried to implement and they could not get even that right.

We have had two years of a government with no strategic direction, no ambition for the country and a string of legislative and policy failures followed by the inevitable finger pointing and the refrain of “wasn’t me”.   The Ship of State is on auto –pilot with the Captain too busy with her personal agenda to see the reef and shallows ahead.

This country cannot remain on auto pilot for the next two years.  We have too much to do, too much to achieve.

We need this country to steam forward not go round in ever decreasing circles.   The citizens of this country must demand more.

As a country we have wasted two years, we simply cannot afford to waste another two.

We the people of this country need to tell this government, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Press Statement: Hon. Josephine Connolly