by Vivian Tyson -SUN Senior Editor

The Bahamas is interested in forging a federation with the Turks and Caicos Islands, taking on federal governance while allowing the TCI to operate as an autonomous state.

This was disclosed by Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham, who was responding to an invite by ex-premier Michael Misick by way of an interview with The Tribute newspaper.

“My colleagues and I have taken note of the comments reportedly made by former Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands Michael Misick in an interview with The Tribune suggesting that the time has come to explore the possibility of creating a federation between The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos. 
"We are fully conscious of the fact that The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos share the same archipelago and, indeed, at one time together constituted a colony of Great Britain administered from Nassau,” Ingraham said., noting also of the close familial ties between the two countries.

The former premier's proposal comes as the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos's self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption. And while Ingraham has indicated that the process would solely be based on the agreement by the people of the two countries, the former premier told the newspaper that if the proposal is gift-wrapped properly, the populace of both countries could buy into it.

"The Bahamas would basically be a federal government with Turks and Caicos managing its local government. I believe the time is right but it needs to be properly packaged and sold to the people.

"The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos have a natural kinship that should be explored. We are practically one country, we are one people. It is unfortunate that our forefathers could not keep the union together," Misick lamented.

The former premier said that Turks and Caicos would not be a burden on the Bahamas, rather it would have much to offer with its tourism and financial services sector.

"We just built hundreds of millions of dollars worth of hospitals that can be there for the people of Inagua and Mayaguana and the other islands of the south. We have a modern society that can service the south-eastern Bahamas and take the strain off the capital.

"We can save so much cost, and all of the south-eastern Bahamas that has been lacking in infrastructure and service for so long can benefit from our hospitals and colleges and so forth. Even in the avenue of tourism, we have three flights a day from Miami, we have flights from London, New York and the south-eastern Bahamas can tap into that if we had an understating or an arrangement.

"We have completely transformed the Turks and Caicos. We have doubled the GDP. We have attracted more than $5 billion in foreign investment. We have invested millions in modern infrastructure and education. It is a real success story. We were in the process of creating the Monte Carlo of the Caribbean," the newspaper quoted Misick as saying.

He said however, that any move towards making a federation a reality would have to come from the Bahamas, as based on its dependency to Britain the Turks and Caicos is less influential, while The Bahamas is independent and carries more clout.

He said the Bahamas would have to lead the unification process knowing that the Turks and Caicos require a certain degree of autonomy.

"We never had a referendum and never established what the people feel about a federation. Now that the British have invaded us it is imperative that there is a movement towards (the future). While the British claim they have no issue with us being independent, they really do because they use us as a bargaining chip in their relationship with the US because of our offshore banking. They have made a deal with the OECD and the US that will curtail offshore activities in British overseas territories.” 

"I believe that the next step is a federation. We have this informal relationship, but it has to be formalised. It requires political strength in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

"We both have small economies and we live in a global village. The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are not going to join CSME, there are cultural and economic differences that will prevent this. But we should unite in mutual respect," he said.

Misick, the TCI’s first premier, resigned in March of this year after a probe, launched in July, 2008 said that there is a "high probability of systemic corruption or other serious dishonesty" among the ruling forces. Misick denied any wrongdoing on his part.

According to Ingraham, like the rest of the Caribbean Community, The Bahamas was dismayed by the suspension of the local Constitution and the imposition of direct rule by Great Britain. He noted that as soon as there is a resolution of the current state of affairs, if the TCI is still interested, The Bahamas would we willing to initiate talks of the federation.

“We consider that the priority of all concerned at this time must be a resolution of the crisis that will restore normality and constitutional order to Turks and Caicos.  When that is achieved, my colleagues and I would be happy to discuss the further strengthening of our historic relationship in accordance with the will of the people of The Bahamas and the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Ingraham said.