Economic Growth at 12 Percent says Premier Washington Misick

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicosIslands, February 22, 2024 – The Turks and Caicos’ economy is growing at a stellar pace according to Washington Misick, TCI Premier.

“We took an economy that was floundering and today it is stronger than ever. In 2022 and 2023 our economy experienced a remarkable surge, with growth rates exceeding 12 percent,” he said during the State of The State Address on Monday February 19.  

Tourism is once again the driver of economic success locally according to Misick and he has detailed other plans that he said his government was putting in place to make sure residents benefited.

“We also removed tax holidays from new development agreements; established TCI Finance – a sister entity to Invest-TCI; amended the restricted and reserve categories for business licenses to protect and support TC- Islanders especially in construction,” he explained. 

The idea behind all of these activities is that more cash will flow to both the government and the residents. TCI Finance was created to advertise the country to investors as a place to do business, and goes hand-in-hand with the delisting of the Turks and Caicos from the EU tax blacklist. 

The year 2024  is also expected to be one of growth for the country. 

“The GDP has grown consistently since we came to office. It is projected to grow this year to 1.5 billion dollars. This year our economy is expected to grow between 3.6 and 5 percent,” Misick said.

The premier indicated that unemployment was also trending down though he did not provide figures. 

The PNP administration says part of its mandate is to diversify the country’s finances away from just tourism.