News
‘Consumer is King’, a first effort by the TCI Department of Trade launched on Monday
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, December 7, 2021 – To a room of retailers and commercial business owners, the government minister with responsibility for Finance, Investment and Trade made a bullish statement and it forecasts the potential future of Turks and Caicos consumerism.
“I don’t want to see where people say uhhh it’s pretty good for the Caribbean, I want them to say it’s pretty good
The charge came from Finance Minister. E.Jay Saunders at the launch of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government’s ‘Consumer is King’ campaign on Monday.
The campaign which is now in full swing with a visit to Grand Turk planned for today (December 7) and visits to North and Middle Caicos planned for Wednesday aims to educate TCI citizens about their rights under the Consumer Protection Ordinance.
Deputy Premier, E. Jay Saunders said one of his goals for the TCI was to get consumer standards on the islands on par with those in North America and the UK. During his address, he expressed how difficult it was to do something as simple as buying a laptop online.
He said. “There is a distinct gap between the ‘haves’ in North America and ‘have-nots’, us in the Caribbean but as consumers, we want the same things …That is why consumer protection is important…this is the step towards getting our standards to where they [North America] are.”
He says it was his hope that through the Department of Trade, Turks and Caicos consumers would experience ‘no difference’ in the quality of service available to them in stores on the island in comparison to those worldwide.
He cited the Department as ‘instrumental in educating Turks and Caicos consumers about their rights.
Lisandra Colley, the Director of the Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition also spoke at the event. Ms. Colley debuted the campaign’s new tagline ‘Consumer Protection is Everybody’s business’ and reminded islanders that this was more than a tagline.
“The campaign aims to promote dialogue on the impact and application of the Ordinance, prevent unfair and misleading practices in the marketplace and to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable members of our community,” she stated at the opening, which was held at Beaches Turks and Caicos.
The director said the launch was not a one-off event, telling the attendees that, “This is a continuous campaign until every resident in the TCI is aware.”
Following the declaration, Colley announced the next phase in the government’s bid to make Turks and Caicos residents more aware, is a cross-country awareness initiative.
The initiative which is in Grand Turk today will run from December 7th to 10th and aims to impart information about the ordinance to consumers one on one. She announced North and Middle Caicos as the next stop on December 8th, South Caicos on December 9th, and the Providenciales on December 10th.
The Department’s efforts did not end there.
They also hope to reach their goal by educating a ‘large majority of islanders’ by distributing small bites of information about the ordinance using ‘Did you Know’ across different types of media.
A jingle competition for TCI high school students will also be held early next year in a bid to make the information as accessible as possible and further engage parents noting that, “When students have access to information, parents by default have to learn something from it.”
Director Colley expressed the hope that attendees would have been enlightened by the launch and charged them to share what was learned with their customers, staff and constituents across the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In attendance and helping to open the Consumer is King campaign, were Washington Misick, TCI Premier; Nigel Dakin, TCI Governor and executive members of the Turks and Caicos Chamber of Commerce.