26/05/2026
TCI TO ADD ONE CABINET MINISTER, TWO PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIES
By Hayden Boyce – SUN Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Turks and Caicos Islands Government is expected to soon expand its executive arm from the Premier and eight ministers to the Premier and nine ministers, along with the addition of two Parliamentary Secretaries, The SUN can confirm.
This newspaper understands that the proposal received approval in principle during meetings in London earlier this month between Premier Hon. Charles Washington Misick and UK Minister for the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty.
According to a post of the Premier’s page, on May 5, 2026, he met with Doughty to engage in constructive discussions on a range of national priorities affectingTurks and Caicos Islands.
However, a formal administrative process must now be undertaken before the changes can become official.
The SUN understands that the matter would ultimately require approval by the UK Privy Council and be enacted through an Order in Council, which would immediately carry the force of law in Turks and Caicos Islands.
Under the 2011 Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order, Cabinet consisted of the Governor, the Premier and no more than six other ministers, along with the Deputy Governor and Attorney General, who sit as ex-officio members.
However, constitutional amendments approved by the UK in 2024 increased the number of ministers permitted under the Constitution from six to eight in addition to the Premier, allowing for a total of nine elected political members of Cabinet.
If approved, the move would create the largest executive political structure in modern Turks and Caicos Islands history and would mark the first formal introduction of Parliamentary Secretaries under the current constitutional arrangement.
The proposed expansion is also expected to carry financial implications for the public purse, including additional expenditure related to ministerial salaries, staffing, office operations, and administrative support.
The latest proposal, if finalised, is reportedly intended to strengthen government’sexecutive structure.
However, some critics argue that the Cabinet is already appropriately sized and suggest that the proposed expansion is a politically expedient move intended to appease backbenchers who have, in recent months, grown increasingly restless over what they perceive to be their exclusion from key government decision-making processes.
There has also been growing speculation for months about a possible Cabinet reshuffle along with restructuring within the governing Progressive National Party (PNP) administration.
Within the Westminster system of government, Parliamentary Secretaries are junior political office holders appointed to assist Cabinet ministers with their responsibilities. They often help manage ministry business, represent ministers during debates and proceedings in the Parliament, assist with legislative matters and oversee specific projects or policy areas on behalf of the government.
Cabinet is headed by Governor Her Excellency Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam. Current members include Premier Charles Washington Misick, who also serves as Minister of Finance, Investment and Trade; Deputy Premier Jamell Robinson, Minister of Immigration and Border Services; Arlington Musgrove, Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development; Rachel Marshall Taylor, Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Social Services; Shaun Malcolm, Minister of Public Safety, Religious Affairs and Utilities; Kyle Knowles, Minister of Health and Human Services; Zhavargo Jolly, Minister of Tourism, Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment; Erwin Jay Saunders, Minister of Innovation, Technology and Energy; and Akierra Missick, Minister of Home Affairs and Transportation.
Also sitting in Cabinet are Deputy Governor and Head of the Public Service Anya Williams and Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles.
The government’s current backbenchers who do not presently hold Cabinet portfolios are:Josephine Olivia Connolly, Sharon Simons and Willin Belliard, all All Island Elected Members; and Jameka Williams, Deputy Speaker and All Island Elected Member;Otis Morris, MP for Grand Turk North; Samuel Ernest Been, MP for Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hills; Randy Dexter Howell, MP for Blue Hills.