Govt Turks Caicos

equivalent to Chief Minister or Prime Minister in other British Overseas Territories. It is the highest political level that can be attained within the British colonial system. However, as a Territory, the Premier and Cabinet of TCI are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to Queen Elizabeth II, and power is shared with a Governor appointed by the crown. In the 2016 election, the office of Premier was won by Sharlene Linette Cartwright-Rob- inson, a politician and lawyer who had suc- cessfully won an at-large, or all-island, seat in the Assembly in 2012, and then won her premiership in a race that featured over 50 candidates vying for the five all-island and ten single constituency seats that were up for grabs. As leader of the People’s Democratic Movement, she saw her party end a thirteen year ruling stretch of the Progressive National Party, capturing 10 of those 15 seats. “So, of course, we formed the government that was elected on the 15th of Decem- ber 2016, for a four-year term,” says Cart- wright-Robinson. “As Premier, I am able to appoint six of those persons who won on the government’s side as Ministers with separate portfolios.” Saving the Ministry of Finance, Investment, and Trade for herself, Cartwright-Robinson named leaders for the THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TURKS & CAICOS following TCI Government Ministries: Bor- der Control and Employment; Education, Youth, Sports, Culture and Library Services; Infrastructure, Housing, and Planning; Home Affairs, Transportation, and Communication; Health, Agriculture, and Human Services; and Tourism, Environment, Heritage, and Culture. “There are certain powers that are retained by the Governor, who is the Queen’s represen- tative under the constitution,” Cartwright-Rob- inson adds. “Internal security as related to the police, and external relationships as an in- dependent country; also anything to do with financial services because that is external.” Both as the country’s Premier and the Min- ister of Finance, Investment, and Trade, it’s no surprise that Cartwright-Robinson’s focus is on keeping TCI’s economy strong. “We had finan- cial troubles a few years ago and we’ve been able to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and achieve a credit rating of BBB+ through the systems that we now have in place,” she explains. “We are very pleased that we have a large number of persons who continue to be