Ed Forbes

Turks and Caicos, August 8, 2025 – As a columnist, I usually steer away from politics, but I think credit should be given where it’s due. With that being said, respect must be given to any leader who recognizes when it is time to pass the baton. I consider this an act not of retreat, but of wisdom and foresight. The recent announcement of Hon. Edwin Astwood willingness to loosen his grip on the political frontline if need be, is such a moment.

For years, he stood as a formidable voice in opposition, consistently winning his constituency, striving to maintain a necessary balance of power in the Turks and Caicos Islands. But standing nearly alone, one of just two successful opposition candidates, his efforts, though valiant, were always going to be limited by numbers.

Today, the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), once the pulse of the nation’s democratic process, finds itself at a critical juncture. Who will now have the courage and capacity to step up and lead, to revitalize its mission, and to restore a credible alternative voice in Parliament?

Like a game of chess, the path forward requires thoughtful reflection. It begins with an honest examination of why the opposition has struggled. Was it a matter of disconnected messaging, inadequate grassroots engagement, or a failure to offer fresh, compelling solutions? Perhaps the strategy relied too heavily on legacy narratives rather than adapting to the current political climate.

Many of the concerns citizens voice in private—whether at family gatherings, domino tables, or barbershops—are not always echoed in public forums such as town hall meetings, political committees or the polls. This silence raises questions: Are we too polite to demand better? Or have we grown too accustomed to the status quo to insist on real change?

Regardless of the cause, it is clear that the opposition must look inward. Rebuilding the party’s credibility and purpose is essential. Whether that means reforming the existing structure or creating a new political movement altogether remains to be seen. What cannot continue is a one-sided political system where dissenting voices are minimal and balance is absent.

The country needs a movement grounded in practical, market-oriented reforms. People are hungry for transformative economic change, change that benefits the wider population, not just the privileged few. Voters want leaders with integrity, bold vision, and the courage to make decisions in the national interest—not merely for corporate or political gain.

The last election results, despite a few hiccups, suggest that the opposition failed to present itself as the party of bold ideas and real solutions.

Any party seeking relevance must speak directly to the growing concerns of inequality—both economic and geographic—that influence how people vote. It must also demonstrate the capacity to effectively manage the growing crime and migration, while embracing integration strategies that reflect our collective identity and demographic realities.

We need leaders who can bring people of all ethnicity together, inspiring unity and shared vision, to work collectively toward a common goal.

It is my belief, the responsibility for change does not lie solely with those in office.
Ultimately, it is up to all of us, as citizens, to demand better, to stay engaged, and to lead by example.

If we wait for leadership to find its moral compass on its own, we may be waiting indefinitely. With the geopolitical challenges around the word, leadership is not for the faint of hearts. At the end of the day, they must follow where the people lead.

Turks and Caicos, July 18, 2025 – It seems like ages ago now, but not so long ago, the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) looked to the British with hope. And, unlike his predecessors, former Governor Gordon Wetherell justified that hope. He showed the political courage and moral fortitude to trigger the suspension of the TCI Constitution — ending the “political amorality and immaturity and general administrative incompetence” that prevailed under the local rule of Premier Michael Misick.

Wetherell appointed the 2009 Commission of Inquiry, which laid bare the “endemic corruption” of Misick and his cronies. This led to their removal from power and set in motion the investigations that ultimately resulted in their arrests. TCIslanders hoped that, with both constitutional authority and moral duty, Wetherell’s successors would hold these crooks to account. Alas, things fell apart.

Simply put, successive governors stood by as the so-called SIPT trials dragged on for more than a decade, costing TCI taxpayers a mercantile $100 million and counting. Frankly, this legal process has proven as dilatory, incompetent, and feckless as the Commission of Inquiry was swift, competent, and damning. It’s as if we’re living the postcolonial follies and venal administrative hijinks V.S. Naipaul skewered in A Bend in the River.

If anyone had told long-suffering TCIslanders at the outset that:

• The British would take more than a decade — and tens of millions of our money — to prosecute Misick and his cronies;
• Most defendants would get off with suspended sentences and court-ordered restitution amounting to only a laughable fraction of what they stole;

We would have said: Don’t bother, man. Spare us the farce, and the bill.

Frankly, justice has not merely been delayed; it has been “drastically” discounted, both literally and figuratively. Of course, Misick and his cronies did what any shameless defendants would: they weaponized every procedural trick, orchestrating endless delays while expert British judges and prosecutors indulged their charade — probably too busy tallying billable hours to notice the sabotage.

We were bewildered and dismayed in equal measure as we watched all defendants make a mockery of the judicial process. I mean, it was like watching a matador tease a blind bull. Yet that paled in comparison with our bewilderment and dismay when Floyd Hall and Clayton Greene were sentenced in October 2023. The TCI’s own Chief Justice declared she was handing down “drastically reduced” sentences because of Hall’s poor health and “significant delays in prosecution.” Their mockery — and the willingness of TCI judges to indulge it — seemed completely lost on her.

Meanwhile, chief crook Misick’s trial concluded recently. Yet, insultingly, the judge is delaying his verdict until October — a timeline that would be untenable in any functioning democracy. Even juries in America routinely hear cases that are far more complex and have no difficulty rendering verdicts within days.

No doubt, everyone expects a guilty verdict. More to the point, after the limp slaps on the wrist for Hall and Greene, everyone expects Misick to get a suspended sentence. After all, with all due respect to the medical profession, why wouldn’t Misick ape Trump by having his doctor declare that (like Hall) he too is in such “poor health” it would be inhumane to make him serve a single day in prison? What’s more, he’ll probably be required to forfeit only a fraction of the hundreds of millions he bragged about looting while premier.

Then, to top it off, everyone expects his automatic appeal to drag out until at least the winter of 2026. Like I said, a complete farce.

Incidentally, former minister Lillian Boyce stands as the moral center of this legal farce. Because she was the only crony with the conscience and integrity to plead guilty, thereby sparing TCIslanders the expense and national embarrassment of a criminal trial.

Boyce’s plea made her a witness for the prosecution whose testimony guaranteed guilty verdicts for any other crony foolish enough to risk trial. Even so, it took five years after the SIPT trials began in December 2015, and 12 years after the Commission of Inquiry’s indictments, for the prosecutors to strike this plea bargain.

That said, it’s arguable that the legions of expatriate judges, “special” prosecutors, and defense lawyers all had vested interests in dragging out these trials. After all, the judges and prosecutors collected exorbitant salaries, while the defense lawyers pocketed hefty legal fees.

Sure, defense lawyers usually rake in the big bucks in criminal cases. But special prosecutor Andrew Mitchell is giving them a run for their money. After all, reports are that he’s still billing the TCI government over £3,000 per day — plus luxury living and travel expenses. No British lawyer ever benefited so handsomely from any criminal case. And this, while the local government struggles to deliver basic public services.

This isn’t just a legal boondoggle; it’s a cynical transfer of wealth from one set of opportunists (our crooked politicians) to another (British hired guns). “Attorneys and investigators in the case are becoming extremely wealthy off the backs of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

But the supreme miscarriage of justice is how the British left long-suffering TCIslanders holding the bag for this costly farce. You’d never know it, but the British retained responsibility for good governance through the appointed governor.                                                                                                                                                      The point is that their man in Turks and Caicos presided over many of the corrupt practices at issue during these trials. Indeed, that’s why Misick’s infamous defense — that the governor signed off on everything — was more than self-serving; it was an indictment of the constitutional colonialism the British lording over “Overseas Territories” represents.

Thus, the British compounded their failure to deliver justice in these SIPT trials by forcing TCI taxpayers to bear the costs. And this, despite a formal submission to the British government making clear that responsibility for funding these prosecutions belongs to the UK, not the TCI.

That submission echoed arguments I made years earlier: the UK’s own failures of oversight, governance, and administrative responsibility made these prosecutions necessary in the first place. In effect, we’re being robbed twice — first, by Misick and his cronies treating our treasury like their slush fund, and then by the British forcing us to foot the bill for prosecutions designed to fail.

This harkens back to the most insidious form of colonial grift — injustice for us, profits for them. A farce so perverse, even Naipaul would have struggled to satirize it.

Anthony Hall

Ed Forbes

The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are at a turning point. Violent crime has taken its roots; illegal immigration is challenging our borders, and our population is growing faster than ever. In this new reality, we need new tools, and one of the most effective could be the creation of a national fingerprint database.

Yes, it’s controversial. But it’s also necessary in order to stay ahead of the curve.

In many countries, fingerprinting is already part of issuing national ID cards, driver’s licenses, and even voter registration. Why? Because biometric databases prevent identity fraud, support public safety, and help governments deliver services more efficiently.

For TCI, the stakes are high. Our law enforcement officers work hard, but without modern tools, they’re fighting an uphill battle. A centralized fingerprint database would allow police to quickly identify suspects, link individuals to crime scenes, and track repeat offenders across islands or aliases.

Currently, investigations are often slowed or stalled, primarily by a lack of reliable identity verification or witnesses reluctant to come forward. That needs to change.

The Immigration Factor

Illegal immigration is another pressing issue. Without proper identity checks, it’s difficult to know who is in the country, what their background is, or whether they pose a threat. A fingerprint database would give authorities a reliable way to verify individuals, even when traditional documents are missing or forged.

This isn’t about targeting any specific group, it’s about fairness and accountability for everyone. We can’t effectively govern or protect our people if we can’t even confirm who they are.

Privacy vs. Public Safety

Some will argue that fingerprinting citizens is an invasion of privacy. But let’s be real, you cannot have total security without giving up some level of privacy. What matters is how the system is designed and protected.

Other countries have shown that it’s possible to maintain strong privacy safeguards. Clear legislation, limited access to data, and independent oversight are key. TCI can and should do the same.

A fingerprint database must not be abused, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be built. In fact, doing nothing is riskier, especially as crime becomes more organized and more violent.

Broader Benefits

Fingerprinting isn’t just for fighting crime. It can help prevent voter fraud, stop people from collecting multiple benefits, and improve how government services are delivered. In emergencies, it can even help identify victims or locate missing persons more quickly.

This system would also support national development. As we attract more investors and visitors, public safety will remain a top concern. A biometric database shows we are serious about stability and order.

What Needs to Happen

We must move beyond only collecting fingerprints when an arrest is made or when applying for a police record. Creating a fingerprint system will require the following:

• Laws authorizing biometric collection for ID cards, licenses, and immigration
• A secure, centralized database linked to law enforcement
•  Public education campaigns to build trust
•  Partnerships for technical and financial support

This won’t happen overnight. But it must happen, because the alternative is falling further behind while crime continues to escalate.

Conclusion

The time for debate is over. We must act now to protect our communities, strengthen our borders, and modernize our systems.

A fingerprint database won’t solve every problem, but it could be a powerful step forward in making TCI safer, stronger, and more secure.