Above: the Turks and Caicos House of Assembly (Photo: GIS)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Turks and Caicos Governor Ric Todd has signed the territory’s new Public Financial Management Ordinance aimed at improving standards of accountability in the management of government funds.

The signing came one day after an arrest warrant was issued for former Turks and Caicos Premier Michel Misick.

According to the government, the completion of the public finance management ordinance takes the Turks and Caicos “one step closer” to the fulfillment of the milestones set out by UK Ministers for the Territory in December 2010.

It was also a requirement of the European Union that it would EDF (European Development Fund) 9 funds to the Turks and Caicos if the legislation were in place before the end of March 2012.

The Public Financial Management bill sets out standards of conduct for the management of public finances “that the UK expects from its Overseas Territories,” the government said in a statement.

It includes measures to strengthen the management of public finances, the improvement of medium-term fiscal planning, to limit borrowing and to deliver greater public sector accountability.

Misick led a government that was alleged to have been involved in widespread corruption, leading the United Kingdom to impose direct rule on the Turks and Caicos.

The public finance and audit bills will both commence from the start of the financial year on April 1.