What Does 50 Years of Administrative Government Mean to You?

VOX POP

The Turks and Caicos Islands is celebrating 50 years of Ministerial Government. In 1976, the people were granted the right to elect political representatives from among themselves. As the country commemorates this historic milestone, NewslineTCI asks members of the public: “What does 50 years of Ministerial Government mean to you?”

Ashley Adams

Fifty years of Ministerial Government means, for me, double my age, which means that there has been a long-standing history of self-governance. It means dedication, commitment, love of country and full-on responsibility to our nation. I wholeheartedly love the Turks and Caicos and look forward to another 50 years.

Edith Cox

It means national pride. You think about it, and it’s 50 years. It’s been a while, and this is an opportunity to reflect on what has happened in the Turks and Caicos and the strides that we have made in the last 50 years. Although I am excited about the next 50, I’m hopeful that we will learn from these last 50 and make the next 50 better for all in the Turks and Caicos.

Arean Louis, Youth Parliamentarian

As a junior parliamentarian, it means a lot to me because these men and women paved the way 50 years ago. Standing here as a parliamentarian and, hopefully, a future politician, it speaks volumes. I am excited to see the crowd that is here and that people came out to support our culture.

I’m just overwhelmed with words right now, but I want to thank them for all they have done, both those who are living and those who have passed. I want to congratulate the Culture Department and all the ministries that put in the hard work to get this event going. Kudos to them. It really and truly means a lot to me. Thank you very much.

Joshua Lightburne, Traffic Department, RTCPF

We have come a long way, and we still have a pretty long way to go.

Drexwell Seymour

I think it means a lot. When I interviewed Honourable (E. Jay) Saunders about two years ago on my YouTube channel, he explained the process they had to go through with an administrator. They were not making decisions by themselves. The administrator made the decisions, and they fought hard to have more authority. This is what the Constitution brought about.

What we have now is not ideal, but it’s a start. It means a lot that we have more flexibility in governing, our country, despite the fact that the governor is still the head. We are not an independent country, so it means a lot.

Pearly Sinclair Musgrove, North Caicos

In 1976, I was in high school in Grand Turk. I lived not too far from the Junkanoo Club. The 1975 uprising caused us to leave school early. We went on summer break, and I remember distinctly that we had to return to school on August 1, 1975.

What does this mean to me 50 years later? I am now a senior. I’m no longer the youth. It means that we have grown. Are we perfect? No, we are not, but we have grown. We have so many blessings and so many riches.

We have freedom. We can travel when we want. We have all the amenities. You name it, we have it. Whether you’re on Providenciales or one of the family islands, everything is accessible. I am so happy and proud to be a Turks and Caicos Islander.

There are many who live among us and treat Turks and Caicos like their home. We are celebrating today because 50 years is nothing to sneeze at. Here’s to 50 years more. I might not be here, but the next generation will be able to take it from here.

Pastor Bradley Handfield

Fifty years of Ministerial Government means a lot to me because, for most of my early childhood, we didn’t initially have Ministerial Government. I experienced a little bit of the administrative system as a child.

Having lived most of my life under Ministerial Government, I’ve had a chance to see the progress our country has made while being led by people elected by us. Our country has been run for the past 50 years by the people, for the people. We have been making the decisions about who will lead the country and holding their feet to the fire over how they lead it.

We have experienced a lot of progress economically and educationally. We still have a lot to do in terms of our civic and social life. Some institutions need strengthening, and some new institutions need to be built. This is a young country in terms of where we are constitutionally, and I am happy to see what God has allowed us to become.

David “Jack” Lightbourne

Fifty years shows the resilience of our people and the fight we’ve come through since slavery to be able to form a government, organize and come together. I hope this is an example showing that we can someday become independent. Big dreams.

We have it in us. We have the love and passion in us to continue. Within those 50 years of Ministerial Government, Turks and Caicos has become the world’s number-one destination. We have done that because of the government, the people and our resilience. I hope we can continue on that path, aim for the sky and go beyond it.

Jarrett Forbes, Director of Sports

When I saw that the government was embarking on this journey to celebrate 50 years, being the history guy that I am, I did some digging. I dug pretty far back, and it inspired me to figure out who we are and where we came from.

I went back to the Middle Caicos days, the Bermudian days and the Turks Islanders, following our journey into self-governance and seeing where we came from and what we have done as a people. Some around the world may ask why we are not celebrating independence, but I think this is more a celebration of growth and resilience.

We are a very small island people, but we are very proud. I think we’ve done a lot of good things over the last 50 years, and I’m definitely inspired for the next 50 years.

Dwayne Taylor, Former Elected Member and Speaker of Parliament

Fifty years of Ministerial Government is a bit nostalgic for me. I am happy that we have made some progress from where we used to be and how we fought to get where we are. I believe Turks and Caicos could have been much further ahead in terms of constitutional autonomy for Turks and Caicos Islanders.

If we look at where we are today, we are paying our own way. We’ve been paying our way since 1988, when we came off grant-in-aid. I was on a radio program this morning, and one of the things I spoke about was the premiership in our country today.

In a system of governance with a premier, the premier is supposed to chair the Cabinet. I believe it was a slap in our face. I believe it was disrespectful and disgraceful to us as intelligent, bright and visionary Turks and Caicos Islanders who understand where we want to go.

Do we know where we want to go? Of course we do. That’s why you had the 1976 movement, and now, 50 years later, we are celebrating Ministerial Government.

If the Turks and Caicos Islands is truly going to move forward, it is not about blue or yellow. It is about Turks and Caicos Islanders coming together for a common goal. I heard a certain play on words during this session about another 50 years of Ministerial Government. No, it’s not going to be another 50 years of Ministerial Government. Over the next 10 to 15 years, we want to be able to raise our flag as an independent country and sing our national anthem. That conversation needs to start today.

If I had to leave something with this generation, I would want to see more constitutional literacy and civic education, an understanding of what the Constitution means to us and what it is all about. It is not just a legal document placed on a shelf. It is a fundamental framework of trust.

Your Constitution is supposed to speak to your will, how you want your country to move and how you want it to be governed. That is the will of the people. That is what we don’t have and what we don’t enjoy.

Today, while I celebrate and understand where we have come from, I think we are still regressing when we should have been progressing. We should have much more autonomy than we have today.