GT Residents speak out ahead of Public Meeting & Island Fish Fry

By Deandrea Hamilton and Dana Malcolm

Editorial Staff

#TurksandCaicos, November 18, 2022 – Grand Turk residents learned last week that on Thursday night, (last night), they would finally have their Premier’s ear at a town hall meeting on the island.  Ahead of the meeting, we learned of a number of grievances to air.

The meeting was rescheduled from a 7pm start to an earlier time at 5:30 pm after initially clashing with a Fish Fry event which had been planned for the Grand Turk community as part of the Tourism Environmental Awareness Month,   In the end, both important functions were accommodated much to residents’ delight.

Residents seem to be anxious for the meeting based on reactions over social media; some feel it has been a long time coming while others have expressed little faith that their concerns will be genuinely considered. We spoke to some residents who told us their major concerns

Grand Turk went through an extreme downturn in 2020 as the pandemic shut down cruising and thus livelihoods for 20 months; dozens of businesses are just now recovering. One resident said people want to see an expansion of the tourism industry from just cruising; they want to see more cash injections onto their island, maybe even a hotel or two.

Another resident told us they feel the island has been neglected with still nowhere concrete for microbusiness vendors to ply their wares, no significant work has been done on infrastructure, cost of living is too high and they are concerned about the country’s blacklisting by the EU and what it truly means for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

In addition to all that, community members have consistently struggled with the risk of their properties going up in flames as arson continues to be a major threat with unsolved cases piling up. The marine branch that used to be active in Grand Turk  is another problem.  Residents say point blank, they want it rectified; demanding that the station be re-established.

Jobs for young people was another ask as many graduates are without a source of income and often find themselves leaving their island home on the hunt for a promising career.  Getting the constantly roaming animals off the island’s streets was another concern expressed to our newsroom.

There are complaints about the state of the airport; residents revealing that up to last week promised renovations had not been done and tourists and residents alike were still walking on the outside of the airport when disembarking or boarding flights.

Finally residents say they simply want more of their government’s attention on the country’s capital to fix the multiplying issues before they get even worse.

After the meeting the Island Fish Fry was set to begin, according to Blythe Claire, Education Officer at the TCI Tourist Board.  Clare said the focus is on youth, highlighting Chelsea Been, the Junior Tourism Minister and the HJ Robinson High School Band.