Should TCI Cabinet Expand?

Dana Malcom

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicosIslands, October 4, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos Cabinet expanded in 2021 from seven to eight ministers but should it expand more?  E Jay Saunders, Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier explained to Magnetic Media what it would take.

Saunders wears several hats in the Cabinet, holding responsibility for Finance, Investment and Trade and more. He’s not alone in that regard, all eight TCI ministers have heavy portfolios. Most British Overseas Territories have similarly tiny Cabinets but a look at the wider Caribbean shows a stark difference.

The Bahamas sports 22 Ministers and Jamaica, Grenada and Barbados all have between 14 and 22 ministers to handle government responsibilities. So why is the Turks and Caicos and other OT’s Cabinets significantly smaller?

“The problem is that the number of Ministers allowed is defined in the Constitution and it’s calculated based on the number of MP’s,” Saunders explained to us.

The 2011 Constitution allowed for the premier and not more than six other Ministers appointed by the Governor, acting in accordance with the advice of the Premier.  It was only through an agreement with the British in 2021 that the county got an eighth minister after the UK reportedly “recognised the growing complexity of the TCI society and the increased workload of the government.”

In order to get any new cabinet portfolios approved it would mean a rework of the constituencies, Saunders explained.

“I think the calculation is a max of 40% of the constituencies. So 25 constituencies should allow
you up to 10 Ministers.”

The original six ministers do represent 40 percent of the constituencies. But as for whether that will change in the coming constitutional rework the Finance Minister said: “I don’t remember seeing that as one of the issues in any of the documents that I've reviewed.”