TCI is only British OT with Informal Settlements Problem

By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, April 13, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos is the only Overseas Territory suffering from such brazen disregard for its planning rules and an overflow of informal settlements, a revelation shared by Carlos Simons KC, head of the Informal Settlement Unit, as he spoke on the ‘why’ behind the demolition exercises being carried out with our news team.

“As I understand it, [we are] the only overseas territory with this problem, it doesn’t exist in the others,” he said, responding to questions posed regarding the ultimate aim of the Informal Settlement Unit.

“What I hope to achieve as the strategic lead of the ISU is to bring the Turks and Caicos Islands in line with other overseas Territories where this does not exist. That begins with halting the proliferation and then confronting what is already on the ground,” he explained.

Simons, who is an experienced attorney and former supreme court judge, did not speculate  on why the Turks and Caicos was so affected by informal settlements.

Prior evidence though points to the country’s proximity to neighboring Haiti, whose residents have, for years, braved the open sea to escape hardship and poor economic conditions in their homeland.

The Turks and Caicos is an attractive destination for human smugglers who take advantage of desperate Haitians, with its disconnected borders to ferry them into the country. The majority of these illegal sojourns make for Providenciales’ shores. The island also hosts the largest informal settlements in the country.

The ISU has confirmed that they believe many of the residents in these settlements to be irregular migrants.

So far, the Government has recovered 27 acres of both private and public land; it is estimated over 140 people were displaced by the demotion exercises in The Bight and Five Cays, Providenciales.