#TurksandCaicos, March 1, 2021 – TCI Governor, Nigel Dakin, addressed the nation on Thursday to explain his reasons behind the controversial appointment of two non-indigenous Turks and Caicos Islanders as members of the House of Assembly.
According to Dakin, the controversy
surrounding these appointments showed a need for a national debate on the
pressing issues of unity or disunity, inclusion or exclusion in TCI. Dakin
appointed Haitian-born Harold Charles who comes from rags but became the second
largest employer on the Islands, directly and indirectly for some time and
DRC-born Willin Belliard who was a former Police Officer and Attorney as
members of the House. Both are now citizens of TCI. Dakin explains that the
constitution guided him to his selection of the appointees.
While the Constitution states in Section 48
that he as Governor is compelled to appoint only Turks and Caicos Islanders and
not a foreigner in the House, Dakin explains that the Constitution does not
differentiate between different types of Turks and Caicos Islanders. “If the
persons I am about to appoint are considered by you to be ‘foreigners’ then you
are at odds with the foundational legal document that all others on the Islands
are built from,” he said. According to Dakin, every Turks and Caicos Islander
has equal status within the Constitution, and under the law.
According to Dakin, he expects the appointees
to have the skill to ‘constructively challenge’, scrutinise legislation
line-by-line, and spending and to be able to bring real diversity of view – to
help the House think through first and second-order consequences that they may
not have considered as supported by Section 47 of the Constitution. (Section 47
of the Constitution states: ‘So far as possible from among persons representing
shades of opinion which would not otherwise be represented in the House Should
the Governor’s Members Be Part of the Opposition.) According to Dakin, this
makes the two appointees suitable for the positions. They will also help with
the relations between TCI and their home countries as they are well-connected
in those respective communities.
Dakin however, recommends that his appointees
should not be reappointed after one term. “That is because I believe the
maximum number of people should be cycled through these roles bringing the
maximum amount of opportunity and diversity to the Chamber,” he said.
Dakin hopes that the appointment of the two
will show people that they are capable of success no matter where they come
from, as long as they go through the legal channels.
