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National Integrity System Country Report: Turks and Caicos Islands

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National Integrity System Country Report: Turks and Caicos Islands TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL the global coalition against corruption NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM COUNTRY REPORT: TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS www.transparency.org Transparency International (TI) is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. Through more than 90 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, TI raises awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and works with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it. www.transparency.org This report was produced thanks to the financial support of UKAid © Cover photo: Flickr/wumpiewoo Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this report. All information was believed to be correct as of January 2011. Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of its use for other purposes or in other contexts. ISBN: 978-3-935711-65-4 ©2011 Transparency International. All rights reserved. Printed on 100% recycled paper. I Introductory Information 4 Table of Contents II About the NIS Assessment 8 III Executive Summary 13 IV Country Profile 20 V Corruption Profile 33 VI Anti-Corruption Activities 41 VII The National Integrity System 46 1. Legislature 47 2. Executive 57 3. Judiciary 70 4. Public Sector 77 5. Law Enforcement Agencies 89 6. Electoral Management Body 95 7. Ombudsman 102 8. Supreme Audit Institution 111 9. Anti-Corruption Agencies 121 10. Political Parties 123 11. Media 133 12. Civil Society 140 13. Business 146 VIII Conclusion 152 IX Bibliography 158 3 NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM | TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 2009 I INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION I INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION 4 NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM | TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 2009 I INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION Authors Lead Researcher Trevor St. George Munroe, BSc (Economics), MSc (Government), D. Phil (Oxon) Consultant, Centre for Leadership and Governance, University of the West Indies, Mona Visiting Fellow, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), University of the West Indies, Mona Research Associate Avagay Simpson, BSc (Political Science), MSc (Government) Centre for Leadership and Governance, University of the West Indies, Mona Research Assistant Lydia Osbourne, BSc (International Relations), MSc (Demography) Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona 5 NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM | TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 2009 I INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION Acknowledgements Special thanks are due to the following, who provided invaluable assistance: Keith Sargent, Governance Advisor, Turks and Caicos Islands Allan Eden-Hutchinson, Honorary Consul for Jamaica, Turks and Caicos Islands Chandu Krishnan, Executive Director, Transparency International UK Zoe Reiter, Senior Programme Coordinator, Americas Department, Transparency International Secretariat Max Heywood, Assistant Programme Coordinator, Americas Department, Transparency International Secretariat Finn Heinrich, Senior Programme Coordinator, Policy and Research Department, Transparency International Secretariat Suzanne Mulcahy, Assistant Programme Coordinator, Policy and Research Department, Transparency International Secretariat Miguel Goede, University of the Netherlands Antilles, external reviewer External reviewer (anonymous) During the research phase of this study, in-depth interviews were carried out with over 25 key stakeholders in the Turks and Caicos Islands, representing a broad cross-section of society. A number of these stakeholders were interviewed on more than one occasion. The breakdown of interviewees according to background is as follows: Government officials (9) Government consultants (4) Representatives of political parties (6) Private sector representatives (3) Media personnel (3) Civil society representatives (4) We would like to thank the stakeholders who made themselves available as interviewees as well as participants in the workshops for this study. 6 NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM | TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 2009 I INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION Acronyms CARICOM Caribbean Community CSO Civil Society Organisations EMB Electoral Management Body FAC Foreign Affairs Committee FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office FSC Financial Services Commission GDP Gross Domestic Product HMG Her Majesty’s Government IMF International Monetary Fund NEC National Executive Committee NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NIS National Integrity System OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PAC Public Accounts Committee PDM People’s Democratic Movement PNP Progressive National Party PSC Public Service Commission PUSH People United to Save our Homeland TCI Turks and Caicos Islands UWI University of the West Indies 7 NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM | TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 2009 II ABOUT THE NIS ASSESSMENT II ABOUT THE NIS ASSESSMENT 8 8 NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM | TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 2010 II ABOUT THE NIS ASSESSMENT The National Integrity System (NIS) assessment approach used in this report provides a framework to analyse the effectiveness of a country’s institutions in preventing and fighting corruption. This analysis has a strong consultative component involving the key anti-corruption actors in government, civil society, the business community and other relevant sectors with a view to building momentum, political will and civic pressure for relevant reform initiatives. The NIS concept has been developed and promoted by Transparency International (TI) as part of its holistic approach to countering corruption. A well-functioning NIS provides effective safeguards against corruption as part of the larger struggle against abuse of power, malfeasance and misappropriation in all of its forms. However, when these institutions are characterised by a lack of appropriate regulations and unaccountable behaviour, corruption is likely to thrive – causing negative knock-on effects on the goals of equitable growth, sustainable development and social cohesion. Strengthening the NIS promotes better governance across all aspects of society and ultimately contributes to a more just society overall. The concept of a National Integrity System is particularly relevant to the Turks and Caicos Islands, where following an official inquiry which found numerous allegations of pervasive corruption, in August of 2009 the Constitution was partially suspended and the British government resumed executive direction on an interim basis. The purpose of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) NIS study is to provide an assessment of the principal institutions of governance responsible for enhancing integrity and combating corruption in the TCI before August 2009 with regard to (1) their overall capacity; (2) their internal governance systems and procedures; and (3) their role in the overall integrity system. The assessment examines both the formal framework of each institution as well as the actual institutional practice, highlighting discrepancies between the formal provisions and the reality on the ground. This in-depth investigation of the relevant governance institutions, which uses key informant interviews and desk research as its primary data sources, is embedded in a concise context analysis of the overall political, social, economic and cultural conditions in which these governance institutions operate. The collected information is used to score the NIS indicators, providing a concise quantitative summary of the performance of the respective pillar. The resulting assessment provides a detailed evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the governance institutions at a given point in time, in the form of a comprehensive country report that includes a set of quantitative indicators for each institution. Its results are geared towards providing constructive recommendations for strengthening the overall integrity of the governance system. It can also be used as a benchmarking tool to measure progress over time, compare performance across institutions, and identify best as well as bad practices. 9 NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM | TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS 2009 II ABOUT THE NIS ASSESSMENT For Transparency International, NIS assessments are an important evidence- based advocacy tool. They complement TI’s global indices and surveys – including the Corruption Perceptions Index, Bribe Payers Index and Global Corruption Barometer, as well as national surveys – by exploring the specific practices and constraints within countries and providing qualitative empirical results about the rules and practices that govern integrity systems. More than 70 such studies had been completed as of the end of 2010. The TCI report presented special challenges to the NIS assessment approach. Amongst these were: 1. The country’s status as a British Overseas Territory. In effect, this characteristic means that key institutional pillars such as the Executive incorporated an extra-territorial dimension, elements of which traditionally were largely non-transparent in their relations with an Overseas Territory. 2. A political situation characterised by significant tension and deep partisanship. The period under study preceded the partial suspension in August 2009 of the 2006 TCI Constitution by the UK government. The research, however, was actually conducted at a time when interim administration had passed the six-month marker. Understandably, in this situation, there appeared to be a sharpening of the divide amongst people with opinions for and against British intervention. This added to
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