News
Astwood, Former Five Cays MP applies to PDM for Election Nod
By Deandrea Hamilton
Editor
#TurksandCaicos, September 2, 2023 – Sean Astwood has been off the frontline of politics since the dismal loss of the PDM Party in the 2021 general elections, but in a statement issued Wednesday August 23, the former Five Cays MP and former Deputy Premier informs he has been paying attention, volunteering and active, behind the scenes in the People’s Democratic Movement.
These facts, he said, coupled with his disappointment with the Washington Misick Administration have revived his desire to run again and he is asking his party for that chance as an All Island candidate.
Astwood has now made his personal decision public, his expression formal.
“I am happy to announce that I have, as of 1pm today, August 23rd 2023 submitted my application to the People’s Democratic Movement to run in the upcoming elections as an All-Island Candidate.
I am excited and eager to face the challenges ahead and help revolutionize the way our Country is managed. I am prepared to roll up my sleeves and get to work with the next PDM administration, under the Leadership of Hon. Edwin Astwood. I would be honoured to have the opportunity to serve you once again.
When deciding whether I should return to frontline politics one of my favorite quotes came to mind. It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
There is reaction; some welcoming the former deputy PDM party leader back to the fray and others who lean toward accusations that soon after the results were in from the 2021 General Elections, Astwood, having lost his seat
abandoned the PDM.
“I am of the mindset that one can serve one’s country in other ways apart from holding a political office. Therefore, In the years since I last held public office, I have continued to be involved in our community, working with local organizations, and volunteering my time to help those in need. During this time I have worked closely with the leadership of the PDM assisting where needed. My desire for making a positive impact in our community has never wavered.”
Sean Astwood said he is convinced the electorate is disappointed, not getting what they had hoped for when they elected 14 candidates from the Progressive National Party, PNP to serve in the House of Assembly.
They cannot stop the sloops… the murder rate is soaring.. and a record number of Islanders are relocating to other countries. These were among the motivators for Sean Astwood.
“I know the current state of affairs in our Country does not reflect the hopes and dreams that our electorate envisioned when they voted on February 19th, 2021. Therefore, if you want to predict a better future it is simply up to you to create it,” he said, adding, “Unfortunately, these past two and a half plus years under the current government have been disastrous for our country. With a record number of murders, mostly our young men, unprecedented number of sloop arrivals, an influx of illegal immigrants reaching our shores and a government that has proven that they cannot stop the sloops. We are also seeing record numbers of Turks & Caicos Islanders relocating to other countries and an increased numbers of our students not interested in returning home after finishing their studies.
Our healthcare system is in shambles and continues to deteriorate, there has been no real progress on the delivery of E-Government, a labour policy that has not been strengthened which has Turks and Caicos Islanders feeling more marginalized than they have ever felt before. We have a myriad of problems, and our Country is in a downward spiral. Unfortunately, our current Government’s approach to all the chaos occurring in our country is to remain silent, bury their heads in the sand and hope these issues either resolve themselves or the people get tired of voicing their concerns.”
The PDM party opened itself to potential candidates for the general election months ago; deadline for submissions to run on the People’s Democratic Movement ticket in the next election is September 8.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
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