This is an opinion column arguing that the Turks and Caicos Islands Government is retreating from its "Islander-first" pledge through an amendment to the 2024 Real Estate Licensing Bill, introduced days before a transitional arrangement for non-Islander agents was due to expire. The author calls it a "selling-out" of the 2025 election promise that only Turks and Caicos Islanders would be licensed to sell real estate.
Deputy Premier Hon Jamell Robinson insists there is "no change of course," but the column disputes this: the amendment creates a permanent licensing route for non-Islander practitioners holding PRCs or BOTC status who were caught by the 2024 framework. The government's stated reason is risk management — losing anticipated litigation could produce broad constitutional reasoning that undermines future localisation measures. The author rejects that logic, arguing the government should defend the law in court, and urges backbench and independent MPs to vote against the amendment, or question the Minister in committee before any vote.
The column also questions whether the new section 7A — which obliges all licensed brokers to fund training, mentoring, internships and apprenticeships for Islanders — is genuine reform or "another round of red meat" to give MPs cover to pass the bill. It closes on trust: a government that waters down localisation promises quietly in committee will erode public confidence in future ones.