A Tale of Two Manifestos and A Tale of Two Leaders

Turks and Caicos, January 31, 2025 – The recently unveiled manifestos of the People’s Democratic Movement, PDM and the Progressive National Party, PNP paint a picture of contrasts. They highlight the stark differences between the party leaders, the Honourable Charles Washington Misick and the Honourable Edwin Astwood.

The people were awaiting the launch of the manifestos to find out what the two major political parties have in store for the next five years.

Launch

The launch ceremonies were very different. The PDM had too many speakers, with each trying to outdo the other. It was a long and tedious affair. I don’t know if the glum and depressed look of the candidates was from boredom or dissatisfaction with the cover of the manifesto. A manifesto and in particular the cover should signal clear ideas, plans and above all hope. The shadowy design on the cover was a harbinger of the inside. The manifesto was long on promises but short on an implementation plan and source of funding.

The PNP’s launch was the opposite. Short and sweet. It started with a prayer and our national song. Above all, the candidates looked like happy warriors who were proud of their manifesto. The cover was bright and the intention clear, the Citizen’s Contract 2.0 is about people, the economy and growth and development.

Party Leaders

We have two leaders who are polar opposites. Charles Washington Misick is a statesman who has a track record of building national institutions and supporting Turks and Caicos Islanders. His speech at the launch was serious and focused on the plans to take our country to the next level. I was struck by how detailed his letter to the voters is. It outlines the desperate state of the economy and country left by the PDM in 2021, some of the achievements and some of the broad plans for the next five years. He closed his letter by humbly asking the people to vote for the PNP. I appreciated that.

From the PDM leader, it was more of the usual petty jabs. Sadly, in the last four years he has not distinguished himself as a serious leader or a serious lawmaker. He presided over the Ministry of Health during the initial stages of the COVID 19 Pandemic and we could not describe his performance as stellar. His letter to voters is devoid of achievements or solutions but what was so terrible, he issued an edict for the people to vote PDM.

One leader respects the power and will of the people, the other does not.

Manifestos

The PDM’s manifesto has a very large basket of promises but they are not backed by a roadmap detailing how these will be implemented and funded. Ideas without the ability and resources to successfully implement them is as useless as the smoke from the dumpsite when it burns.

On the other hand, we have seen the economy grow rapidly and consistently under the PNP. We have also seen the GDP almost double, with tourist arrivals and investments at historic levels.  Thousands of dollars have been given to us to help us deal with the higher inflation brought on by world economic conditions – something many countries currently struggle to deal with.

The PDM has a duty to tell us how they will pay for all that they have promised. The Opposition leader has threatened to rip up the budget if he wins. Is he not aware of the framework agreement with the UK which (among other things) sets debt sustainability targets for the TCI which mandate that debt service charges are less than 10 percent of the recurrent revenue and has requirements for 90 days of cash?

The PDM claims that the PNP has plagiarized their manifesto. Nonsense. Anyone who has looked at both will probably realize that the PDM manifesto writers are the plagiarists. They copied some of what the PNP has already delivered and has publicly stated are in the pipeline. A word of caution to the PDM… no matter how you grandstand with words, you can’t plagiarize performance.

The PNP has performed and delivered on their Citizen’s Contract. In fact, the Citizen’s Contract 2.0 lists 100 promises made and kept and they have recently publicized even more.

I say to the people of our Beautiful by Nature Turks and Caicos Islands: Choose wisely!

Choose the statesman with a track record of building national institutions and development programs. Choose the party that has always delivered and made our lives better.

There is only one choice. The Progressive National Party led by the planner, the builder and the man who has delivered, the Honourable Charles Washington Misick.