We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are

We ask and when we get it, we don’t want it.

Introduction

Everybody has wants and some of us express our wants and desires publicly especially when it comes to our country. I appreciate those people who are not afraid to speak out on pertinent issues and provide constructive criticism. However, I am concern about our country because some of the things we ask for, we are getting it, but we still complain. This leads me to the main topic of my article; do we know what we want?

Police help from the Bahamas

The Turks and Caicos Islands Police does not seem to have enough manpower and equipment to deal with the crime that is taking place.  We the residents of the TCI say we want action now and so to Government was able to work a deal with the Bahamas Government for some of their police officers to assist us with catching these criminals. However, many of us are now complaining about the Bahamians coming here to assist. I can understand the Bahamians complaining because of the crime situation there because we may have done the same thing as what some of us did when the Government provided financial aid to the Bahamas during Hurricane Dorian.

We should be grateful and appreciative of the help that we are getting form the Bahamas. With that said let me take this opportunity to thank the Bahamas Government for their generosity in helping us to fight crime. We do not know if they will make a difference but how do we know if we do not try. One thing we know is that we need help because the resources we have now are inadequate to catch the criminals.

The UK’s response to crime

We have acknowledged repeatedly that that security falls under the remit of the Governor and the UK needs to do more. They have sent soldiers and have agree to provide funding of 3million pounds for tactical unit and we still complained. What do we want? Some say the money could have been used for something else. This money is not our taxpayers’ money. If we are going to get help from the UK to fight crime, let us accept it. Let us discontinue these theories as to why they did not help before. We cannot change the past, we need to focus on the present.

Independence

Do we want to be under the British or do we want to be independent of the UK? If we want to be independent, who is educating the public about the pros and cons of Independence. Everything there is a major issue, we say let us get independent, but we are encouraging many of our citizens to migrate to the UK.

Fuel Factor

One of the greatest elements of our household expenses is the cost of electricity. The Government has agreed to cap the fuel factor at 20 cents. Some of us are complaining about that. What do we want?  I think what we should concern about is the calculation of the fuel factor. It is standard in the industry to charge fuel factor to the consumers.

Stimulus

Many of us say we need help with the cost of living. The Government provided 3 stimuli. If you do not want the stimulus, then don’t apply for it. I did not agree for the $500 stimulus, so I did not apply for it.  Ironically, many individuals who complained about the stimulus were some of the first in line to collect it. What do you want? If you don’t support, it then don t apply for it. If you want help and help is provided, then what do you want.

Duty exemptions

I know I wrote several articles on duty exemptions and that the Government should waive or reduce duties on basic food items. Some of us are complaining about that. Our complaint should not be about initiative. Our complaint and concern should be about whether the duty exemption is reflected in the sale price that the consumers are paying for the goods.

The Church

Every time there is a major crime, we cry out and ask where the church is. The church has not gone anywhere. We are the church. If you are talking about the church building, the church doors are open and how many of us are going to church.  There was a National Day of Prayer, how many of us attended the prayer. However, a murder took place the same day and we were quick to question why the murder took place the same day as the National Day of Prayer.

External labour (“Foreigners”)

Whether we like or not, we must accept the fact that our country is growing and with growth, we will need people to occupy the positions.  We should also remember that less than 1/3 of our population are locals and of the 23,027 jobs that were described in the National Skills Audit report, only 8,589 were Turks and Caicos Islanders so we will need to import labourers. If there are not enough of us, don’t we have to import labour. What do we want?

Some of the locals also complained about the performance of other locals on the job and so they recruit external workers. What do we want?  Furthermore, many families are migrating to the Uk an US and so if they migrate, don’t we have to replace them with ‘foreigners.”

Our Heritage

Many years ago, thousands of locals left the country and migrated to other countries particularly the Bahamas. Some of the children of these individuals are now coming to the Turks and Caicos. Some of us complain about that. We complain about the foreigners, we complain about brothers and sisters who are migrating here, and we complain about our own. What do we want? Who do we want here.

Locals in key positions

We say we want locals in the top positions and there is nothing wrong with that because if a local is qualified for the position, they should always get first preference. However, as soon as some of our locals get in the positions, we find every fault with them, assassinate their characters, and don’t support or encourage them. What do we want?

Conclusion

I know I am very critical but one thing I will not do is to be a hypocrite. If I ask for something and it was provided, I will not complain. Let us learn to be grateful and don’t complain just to complain. As I end this article, I think about the nurses in the dialysis center, we do not have one local nurse who works in the dialysis center and so we must recruit dialysis nurses from abroad. Let us stop attacking the help that we receive and be thankful that we have receive help.

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