Governor Wetherell says he's determined to return good governance to the TCI

"Our country remains at a standstill," complained Premier Galmo Williams in a June 25 speech that taunted the UK over its plans for the islands.

Three months ago, London indicated it would restore direct rule once an investigative report into alleged corruption by officials was published.

The report is in the hands of the British but its release is being withheld, apparently on legal grounds.

The uncertainty has evidently left Premier Williams a frustrated man.

"Our country cannot continue to operate in this manner," he said. "The atmosphere of uncertainty looms over our land and has created fear in the minds of citizens, residents and investors alike."

Mismanagement

The British governor, Gordon Wetherell appears less than impressed with that statement.

In a response issued through the Government Information Service on Monday, Mr Wetherell insisted that the UK was working to help the TCI recover "from a long period of political and economic mismanagement."

But the uncertainly has also spread to business.

"We're in limbo ... we are all waiting for this to be resolved," Tina Fenimore, the President of the Chamber of Commerce on Providenciales, the commercial capital of the TCI, told BBC Caribbean.

Ms Fenimore however added that she was anxious to begin "cleaning up the mess" the country had got itself into.

Mr Williams, in effect, had thrown down the gauntlet to the governor after setting out his own manifesto to govern the country over the proposed two years of direct rule.

	Premier Williams took up duties after his predecessor quit

He had urged residents to demand that the governor set out a programme of action for the islands "if he is going to serve as your representative."

One of the complaints of Mr Williams and some residents was the failure to disburse US$7.5 million in funding provided to rebuild and repair houses, schools and other buildings damaged by last year's hurricanes.

This clearly struck a chord with the 2009 hurricane season already a month old.

Mr Wetherell said he regretted the delays but "stressed the need to ensure that the money was spent in a transparent and accountable manner ..."

Investor confidence

Failure to do this in respect of other projects, he said, had proved costly for the treasury.

The governor said that building works on hurricane shelters, for example, should begin shortly, as the busiest period of the season is not far away.

He made no mention of a release date for the corruption inquiry report but said it was hoped that its findings would lead to restoration of investor confidence in the territory.

So too would financial discipline.

"TCI's political leaders were in a position to set a good example of cost-cutting and austerity, the governor said.

Signalling that sacrifices need to be made, the governor said that substantial cuts in public spending were required.

His message was that the country was living beyond its means, had borrowed irresponsibly and had sustained enormous losses through tax breaks.

Indications were that loans from even the Caribbean Development Bank would attract tough conditionalities.

No empty rhetoric, Mr Wetherell said, would deflect him from establishing good governance in the TCI.