ABSTRACT
The Turks and Caicos islands consist of two groups of islands, islets and cays, some 40 in all, lying in the Atlantic to the south-east of the Bahamas and 145km north of Hispaniola. The two groups are separated by the Columbus or Turks Island Passage. Area: 430sq km (166sq miles); capital: Cockburn Town (on Grand Turk); population: 19,000 (2001 estimate), approximately one-half ‘belongers’ of African descent; official language: English (Creole is also spoken); religion: Protestant 40%, Baptist 18%, Anglican 16%. Methodist 12%, Church of God. Constitution: Under the British Overseas Territories Act of 2002, the Governor represents the Crown and presides over both the Executive Council and the House of Assembly. He himself is responsible for defence, external relations, internal security, the judiciary, audit and the appointment of public officials. The Executive Council consists of the Chief Minister, chosen by the Governor as the leader of the political party most likely to command a majority in the Legislative Council and four other ministers appointed by the Governor from the elected members of the Legislative Council, as well as three members ex officio: the Financial Secretary, the Chief Secretary and the Attorney-General. The Legislative Council consists of the Speaker, the three ex officio members of the Executive Council, 13 members elected by residents over the age of 18 and three members who are nominated, one on the advice of the Chief Minister, one on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and one at the Governor’s discretion. History: The islands were a dependency of Jamaica until its independence in 1962. They then became a separate colony, but were administered from the Bahamas between 1965 and 1973. In 1976 a pro-independence party gained power and agreement was reached with the United Kingdom in 1980 that the islands would be granted independence, but so far no government has chosen to exercise this option. Latest elections: At the general election held on 24 April 2003 the ruling People’s Democratic Movement won seven of the 13 seats on the Legislative Council; the results in two of these, however, were challenged by the opposition Progressive National Party (PNP), and in June 2003 the results were declared void by the Supreme Court. The subsequent by-elections gave both seats to the PNP, and on 15 August Michael Misick of the PNP was appointed Chief Minister and formed a new government. International relations and defence: The United Kingdom government is responsible for both. Economy: Until 1964 the principal export was salt produced by the solar evaporation of sea water, but the industry has now almost ceased. Fishing for lobster and conches forms the mainstay of the export economy. There is no significant agriculture on most of the islands and most foodstuffs have to be imported. In recent years there has been a substantial increase in the tourist industry, which is concentrated on the island of Providenciales and caters mainly for US visitors. The expansion of offshore finance, however, led to the islands being blacklisted by the OECD in 2000, though they were removed in March 2002 when they were judged to have made sufficient progress in tightening up their financial regulation.
