They are not your saviours.

Introduction

The general election for the Turks and Caicos is less than two years away. I don’t know about you, but my eyes are wide open. We have been fooled and deceived by some of these politicians. We tend to have short term memory because some of these individuals are still in power and some of them were in power in the past. Don’t you remember what they did or did not do.

These politicians make so many promises to you and some of them know they cannot deliver those promises for there are some things they can do and there are some things they cannot do but they act like they are our saviours during the campaign.

Please do not put your trust in these politicians. Yes, the way the country is set up requires a government and you have the power to elect and reject them. The main roles of the politicians are to make laws, enact policies, and to provide funding.

You do not have to depend on politicians to make it in life. Do you know who you must depend on?  God has given us all of gifts and talents and we need to use those gifts and talents to become entrepreneurs in the country. God has given you a voice and you need to use your voice to make a difference. You are the solutions to the issues.

Politicians making noise in the House of Assembly are not the answers. Some of these politicians who want you to vote for them cannot help themselves and if they cannot help themselves, why do you think they can help you.

Let us examine some of the issues.

Crime

The politicians will campaign to you on crime. They will tell you that they will reduce crime. The truth of the matter is they cannot reduce crime. Crime continues to increase year on year no matter who the Government of the day is.

Don’t be fooled by politicians telling you they will reduce crime. As an individual, you can reduce crime by reporting the matters, and by stop covering up for individuals who you know committed the crime.

Crime is taking place because of so many issues. Don’t allow the politicians to make you feel they can reduce crime. They can put measures in place and they have done so but crime is still taking place.

Sloops

If Haiti remains in the crisis state it is in, Haitians will continue to flee Haiti to go other places and of course Turks and Caicos is one of the closest places to Haiti so sloops will continue to come. They will not be able to stop the sloops. They will be able to intercept the sloops, but they will not be able to stop them from coming from Haiti because Haiti has a problem. Now, of course, improvement is needed in the interception of sloops because some sloops are coming undetected.

The politicians cannot stop the sloops. Haiti is in a worse state than what it was when some of our former politicians were in power and so there will be an increase in sloops.

Of course, we cannot take this for granted and we must ensure that our borders are equipped 24/7 so that when the sloops do make it to our borders, they are intercepted.

Jobs

Politicians cannot give you a job in Government. They can create jobs, but you must apply and go through a process. There is the Public Service Commission and furthermore the recruitment of civil servants is not under the portfolio of elected members.

Do not be fooled by politicians who promised you a job. Of course, some may argue that the process can be manipulated, and they can get who they want to hire but technically that is not how it works. Politicians are not responsible for the hiring of individuals.

You as an individual need to apply for a job as soon as you see it advertised and when you get the job, you need to perform well. If you don’t get a job the first time, don’t give up, keep applying.

I personally believe that we should be focusing on being entrepreneurs. There are a lot of opportunities for us. Embrace them and stop waiting on politicians. They cannot help you. They set the laws and policies and then you must set up your company.

Procurement Board

I know a lot of people are upset over the award of contracts. Again, the politicians do not select the contractor. First, there is a tender process, and you must submit it and then it goes to the tender Board and all tenders are opened for transparency. The thing is, sometimes the same contractor bids all the time and may end up getting projects. Now what the politician can do is perhaps pass a law that restricts the number of contracts any contractor can get but they do not choose the contractor. The politician can also work to change the procurement law because right now anyone in the world can bid on Government contracts even if they do not have a business licence in TCI.

Operations of the government Departments

The politicians do not run the Departments. The politicians advise the policies, and it is up to the Department Heads to ensure that the policies are enforced and implemented.  Don’t you notice that no matter what political party is in power, we are getting the same results and that is because the departments continue to be managed by the same civil servants.

Conclusion

The heat is on, and politicians will tell you all sorts of promises. They tell you what you want to hear but they are not your saviour. You must be the one to make a change. Our country is growing not because of Government, it is growing because of the private sector and that is why it is important for Turks and Caicos Islanders to establish businesses and play a significant role in the private sector.  Embrace the reserved categories and stop selling your birthright.

The politicians need to be open and frank with you. They cannot do some of the things they say they can do.