On February 19, 2021 my party was elected to serve as the new government of the Turks and Caicos Islands and quickly worked to deliver on our mandate to provide support to the people of these islands through the delivery of a new Citizen Relief Stimulus Programme.

Recognizing the negative impact that the global COVID-19 pandemic has had on our islands over the last year, my government in its second but first substantive Cabinet meeting on 1st March 2021 approved the payment of one thousand dollars ($1,000) to all eligible Turks and Caicos Islanders and British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTC) that have been residing in these islands during the last twelve (12) months.

Less than six (6) weeks since taking office and four (4) weeks since approving this program, I am pleased to say that over twelve thousand (12,000) persons have been able to benefit from this programme with cheque distribution having begun on Friday, 26 March, 2021.

This was no small undertaking as it required the careful consideration, time and effort of a number of key stakeholders across government including the support of my Cabinet and House of Assembly colleagues, but most importantly the operational support of my Finance Team that did an excellent job in the roll-out delivery of this programme.

For this, I express my profound thanks to the leadership of the Ministry of Finance, the Permanent Secretary of Finance, Mrs. Athenee Basden and Deputy Secretaries, Mrs. Shonia Thomas-Been and Mr. Stuart Taylor; the Director of ITT, Mr. Andre Mills and his team for leading on the development of the application portal and all technical requirements; the Director of Statistics and his team for providing review and vetting support; the Accountant General, Mr. Hemant Sinanan and his team for their work on the payment and distribution system, as well as support provided from the Deputy Governor Her Excellency Anya Williams, the staff of Revenue Control Unit and Customs Department on the roll out of the programme

I have an amazing team and am indebted to them for the way everyone rolled up their sleeves to disseminate the payments to the people of the TCI, many of whom are hurting. I truly feel blessed.

To all, your efforts have not gone unnoticed and are greatly appreciated by me, my government and the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.