Caribbean News Now!

By Caribbean News Now contributor

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands -- An ongoing leakage on Friday of what should have been confidential information from the Attorney General’s Chambers in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), apparently by those doing the related research, has led to accusations that the acting attorney general is trying to destabilise the territory.

In the hours leading up to the release of a media statement by acting attorney general Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles at 5:05 pm on Friday, stories were being widely circulated in the TCI that members from both sides of the political aisle were going to lose their seats in the House of Assembly.

These stories took different forms during the day on Friday until the press release confirmed the exact details. In fact, one weblog favouring the Progressive National Party (PNP) reported that the opposition Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) was going to be targeted by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

The press statement released late on Friday indicated that, during the course of the day on Friday, Braithwaite-Knowles looked into Crown land records, which are now part of the attorney general’s department and found that four PDM and one PNP sitting members of the House of Assembly failed to declare open conditional lease contracts they had on land with the government and/or they failed to give back the discounts they owe because land they obtained as belongers was resold to non belongers within a ten year period. This was frequently practiced during the Michael Misick administration and was known as “land flipping”.

The people cited for failure to disclose their land dealings as candidates are George Lightbourne (PNP); Edwin Astwood (PDM); Derek Taylor (PDM); Josephine Connolly (PDM); and Delroy Williams (PDM).

Following the release of the statement by Braithwaite-Knowles, Derek Taylor, the longest serving chief minister, confirmed that he did have one conditional lease on a piece of Crown land taken out in 2009. However, Taylor said that the lease had matured and he has held freehold title to the land for some years. He still owns the Grand Turk property and has not sold it.

It is believed that others named will report their leases either have matured or have expired. This voids any contractual obligations they have with the government as related to the land in question.

Ironically, according to local sources, Braithwaite-Knowles herself also had a Crown land lease and may not have declared it as an ex officio member of the House of Assembly when the attorney general is absent.

The Crown land records that formed the basis for the decision to file belated election challenges are said to be incomplete and not up to date, with the responsibility for their maintenance now falling on the attorney general’s department, which would therefore have used its own flawed records to create the current electoral chaos.

Braithwaite-Knowles is well known for her support of the PNP and a personal friendship with Premier Rufus Ewing, and her actions on Friday against predominantly PDM members of the Assembly are fueling this latest controversy.

Indeed, some are calling for an investigation into the decisions being made by the Attorney General’s Chambers on the grounds that it is a criminal act to intentionally destabilize a country.

Many in the TCI quickly labeled Braithwaite-Knowles’ actions as a witch hunt against the opposition PDM.

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