DMMO Judicial review now progressing says PDM Party

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, September 11, 2023 – The court is now in possession of the judicial review filed by the Opposition PDM party seeking to investigate the bills regarding the Tourist Board Dissolution and Introduction of the Destination Management and Marketing fee.

Alvin Garland, Opposition Appointed Member shared updates on the litigation process in a press conference held by his party on Thursday, September 7.

“We are waiting for a date for the substantive hearing of that application,” he revealed.

Named in the review, he said, are Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism; Washington Misick, Turks and Caicos Premier and Gordon Burton, Speaker of the House.

The document contends that there was no significant consultation on the bills and that the speaker should not have allowed all three readings of the bill to take place at once.

Garland described the implementation of the DMMO as ‘experimental.’

“The Leader of the Opposition recognized the need to engage the public and his constituents and employees of the board before he would have agreed to that reading of all three bills,” he said.

Garland also maintains that by law, the Governor of the day was required to make sure that proper consultation had been carried out before signing off on the Bill.

TCIG has not commented on the matter.