Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, February 23rd, 2024 -The Turks and Caicos is getting ‘Poor in 2024’ that was the sentiment from Leader Edwin Astwood, Opposition Leader as he responded on February 20th to the State of the State Address delivered by Washington Misick, TCI Premier the day prior.
Astwood rebuffed several comments made by the Premier during his February 19 State of The State Address, including those on health, immigration and housing.
The Opposition Leader, and Former Health Minister maintained that the plan quoted by the Premier for Healthcare, which had to do with improving the current contract overseeing the TCI Hospital, was not enough. Astwood queried where the plans were for other facets of care from the National Health Insurance Board to maternity care to primary healthcare.
“The country needs comprehensive sustainable solutions to go beyond rhetoric and political posturing,” he maintained, “ You all know that when it comes to healthcare, I can deliver, “ he said.
Astwood maintained that, despite the Premier having a plan to deal with housing, that plan left out too many islanders. He stressed that the country needed policies that would save homes and put plans in place for those who had lost homes to regain them.
The PDM leader was also displeased with the current Crown Land arrangement; an area not overseen by an elected Minister. For this he blamed the Premier.
”He himself has refused to represent this transfer, and he has also refused to support when I did make such recommendations. the Premier did not tell you that this can be done just by changing the Crown Land Ordinance.”
The Opposition Leader maintained that his party was committed to seeing Crown Land returned to a minister and for residents to have easy access.
Astwood also expressed frustration at what he described as the increase in work permits being granted for jobs that Islanders were qualified to do
In terms of finances, The Opposition Leader touched on the reduction in Customs Processing Fee, a border tax on imports; he claimed that it was not being passed on by merchants to the people of the Turks and Caicos.
“A PDM government maintains that savings must be for the consumer, and we have policies and oversight mechanisms to implement that will ensure utilization of these concessions, and that our people benefit from any foregoing of government revenue,” he said.
He also decried the new increases in salary for public servants as uneven.
”Some civil servants, when receiving the pay increase, and the removal of allowances and making almost the same amount as before, and some even end up making less,” Astwood charged.
Despite Misick’s claim that over $760 million is being spent on new developments, Edwin Astwood candidly expressed disappointed that ‘none was being spent in Middle Caicos, Salt Cay and barely any in Grand Turk.’
The enduring statement from the Opposition leader was disappointment in the current administration.