I wrote a letter to the premier the other day to give some feedback on the white paper public consultation that will be wrapping up soon here in the territory. I hope others also submitted their “two cents” as to how we see ourselves relating to the United Kingdom in the future. I don’t agree with how the consultation was initiated without proper public education, as this is a topic that is far removed to a large majority of the population. For some residents, this is the first they’ve heard of the existence of a “white paper” and its contents and intent, yet the document affects the territory in a very profound way.
I also attended the Frederick Pickering Memorial Lecture delivered by Gerard Farara, QC, on Jan. 17, and was truly enlightened as to the true nature of our constitutional status as an overseas territory. I was somewhat dismayed that more of my peers weren’t there for such an important discussion. After all, many of questions posed will be for my generation and beyond to answer.
I’m also going to be lobbying for civics and Virgin Islands history to be reintroduced into the high school curriculum, because I am very disappointed that all this key historical information was taken out for whatever reason. In my opinion, our lack of knowledge about local history is why we don’t have a strong sense of national pride, because we don’t know what we have to be proud about.
I also learned for the first time that Frederick Pickering was a Virgin Islander who acted as administrator (that’s what they called the governor back then) for a time in the 1800s. And trust me: That was a big deal in those days!
UK relationship
So here I am continuing the conversation about our relationship with the UK and how we progress as a territory. Regardless of what you call it, we are a colony, which is defined as any people or territory separated from but subject to a ruling power — now also referred to as an overseas territory. As such there are certain rules and guidelines that are laid out in the constitutional document that is in play. Let the Turks and Caicos be our witness to that.
One of the points I found very interesting from the lecture is that the Constitution does not have absolute power since it is a document that has to be sanctioned by the ruling power — the UK in our case. Matters such as borrowing guidelines and budgetary reviews are very serious matters that affect everyone.
For example, if government is unable to raise enough revenue to maintain roads, schools, medical services and so on and can’t borrow, then everything starts to come apart at the seams because of a lack of funding. This is why we need to manage what financial resources we have like Fort Knox because 1) we can’t print currency like sovereign nations can and spend, spend, spend; and 2) if we need to borrow, the decision is not entirely ours.
Independence
Just as those who came before us gave their input into shaping our relationship with the UK, we must do the same today. I think we take for granted that it was VIslanders who pushed for a legislative council and a Constitution in the first instance, not the UK. Thus, we must continue to evolve so if push comes to shove we can stand on our own with much preparation. Many are afraid of the discussion of independence, and it is no light topic, but the way I see it, once we are doing the right things to have stable socioeconomic growth, there is nothing that says we can’t renegotiate our Constitution for more autonomy. But I’ll save that for another conversation.
Here are some of my thoughts to the questions posed in the public consultation by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. These issues are something for all VIslanders and residents to ponder in their own time. More importantly, they should consider what the solutions ought to be.
Challenges
One FCO question asks about the main challenges facing the VI and other UK territories. I perceive the main challenges facing the VI to be varied:
• Lack of a medium-to-long-term national vision and development plan to direct socioeconomic growth in a meaningful way. Sporadic projects and programmes do not lead to desired outcomes because of a lack of intentional planning for various sectors such as the economy, education, health, social development, environment/natural resources, law and order and physical infrastructure. Along the same vein is the need for a formal project management framework to successfully implement projects.
• There is a lack of economic diversification. The economy is based on industries that are volatile and overexposed to global trends. If they are not managed properly, they are a threat to the sustainable development and economic viability of the VI. Secondary industries such fishing, farming and cottage industries of the past need to be developed to supplement and complement the primary industries of financial services and tourism.
• The public service needs to be modernised. Contemporary systems and procedures in the areas of financial management and performance management will improve the quality of services delivered and impact the quality of life.
• Improved border controls are needed to mitigate drug, gun and human trafficking. Proper control systems are needed especially in the Customs and Immigration departments to ensure the legal movement of people and goods into and out of the territory.
Cooperation with UK
The FCO also asked questions about the VI’s relationship with the UK:
• “What are the most important areas of cooperation between your territory/the territories and the UK?
• In what areas would you like to see greater engagement and interaction between the UK and our territory/the territories?
• How can the UK and your territory/the territories strengthen cooperation and build more effective partnerships?”
Firstly, I am not aware of collaboration between territories apart from European Union/European Commission development projects. I know of instances where territories have sent public officers on observation trips to their counterparts here in the VI but nothing on a consistent basis.
I think important areas of cooperation can come in the development of technical capacity in the public service and business ventures in the private sector. Across territories I think it would be good to have attachments/internships in the public sector agencies as well as private sector organisations.
Another idea would be to have training, workshops or forums across the territories in areas such as financial management, economic planning, project management, succession planning, performance management, border protection, education, health services, agriculture, labour, immigration, law and order, and telecommunications, to name a few. We can learn best practices from one another that will strengthen each territory’s governance structure.
There is much more that can be added to this list, and that is why public participation in the governance process goes beyond elections and everyone should share their ideas. Voting is actually only the beginning. What unfolds thereafter is dependent on the population’s vigilance and active participation, solicited or not.