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Some have called it a return to colonial rule, others are hailing it as an overdue move by London.
As the United Kingdom prepares to take back government of its overseas territory, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the UK finds itself defending a decision which followed an in-depth corruption probe.
The opposition leader of the Turks and Caicos Floyd Seymour has hailed the recent Commission of Inquiry into allegations of corruption.
"One of the things that this whole process has taught us is that the laws in the Turks and Caicos Islands work, and that no one is above the law," Mr Seymour told BBC Caribbean.
The UK is on the brink of suspending the TCI's constitution, after the probe found clear signs of corruption in the government.
The report of the Commission was published online at the weekend, however sections were blacked out for legal reasons, as court challenges got underway in both Grand Turk and London.
What the document says
Now a version of the document is public, the 266-paged report outlines the extent of what it called "this moral, governmental and financial decline".
According to the document, the corruption appears to have consisted of "bribery of Ministers and/or public officers by overseas developers and other investors, so as to secure Crown Land on favourable terms".
The Commission also discovered "serious deterioration - from an already low level - in the territory's systems of governance and public financial management and control".
The contributing factors to this decline include "the potential and encouragement in the system of governance for abuse of public office, concealment of conflict interest at all levels of public life".
Another factor was the lack of effective constitutional checks and balances "to protect the public purse, the inefficient from scrutiny, the dishonest from discovery and the vulnerable from abuse".
Head of the Commission, Sir Robin Auld, has recommended criminal action against former premier Michael Misick and other politicians who are accused of enriching themselves.
Mr Misick and others have refuted the charges.
Direct rule
Sir Robin has also recommended the restoration of direct rule in the TCI for two years, during which time the territory will be under the direct rule of Governor Wetherell, the Queen's representative in the territory.
He will be assisted by an advisory council.
Governor Wetherell told BBC that Britain will use the two-year period to put measures in place to ensure good governance.
"The fact that it has decided that these steps are necessary, underlines the seriousness of the situation.
"It would have been a dereliction of duty on the part of Her Majesty's government given this responsibility for the good governance of the islands, to do differently," Mr Wetherell said.
The task facing the newly-empowered governor will include constitutional reform as well as a complete revamping of financial, political, and public service codes if the report recommendations and its associated appendices are anything to judge by.
Right to govern
Mr Misick has mounted a legal challenge to the UK decision
Former premier Misick, who stepped down in March amid the corruption allegations, has criticised the UK decision, and has mounted a legal challenge against the restoration of direct rule.
"We have the right to govern ourselves, the right to hold free and fair elections.
"To take away people's rights because of allegations should not happen in a modern democracy, even a colony," he told the BBC.
"And that's why we have decided to challenge it."
The Turks and Caicos' independent neighbours, the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom) grouping has also denounced the UK decision as too drastic.
At the end of its annual summit in Guyana earlier this month, the regional grouping said that: "Suspending the Constitution of TCI and its democratic institutions and resorting to direct rule by the colonial power are not the most effective tools to bolster good governance and effective administration in the territory."
Not the first time
But it's not the first time such a scandal has hit the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In 1986, the then Chief Minister Norman Saunders was arrested in Florida with a suitcase filled with money and cocaine.
London took charge of the territory then.
However, in the internet-linked media spotlight of 2009, very few of the investigation's secrets remained quiet for very long.
The report, mistakenly published without the sensitive areas and names blacked out, meant that the full report was doing the rounds globally even as it was being pulled from the official site.
Recommendations:
Some of the recommendations coming out of the report include:
• The appointment of a special adviser to the Governor to oversee reform of the public service; three public financial management advisers; an economic adviser; a good governance adviser and a crown land adviser.
• The provision for a special criminal process and civil recovery of assets arising out of any criminal or other investigations.
• Promulgation of a Code of Conduct for Ministers of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
• Early implementation and amendment of the Integrity Commission Ordinance enacted in May 2008.
• Strengthening of the Attorney General's chambers.
• Preparations for increased judicial workload that may result from criminal and/or civil recovery investigations undertaken pursuant to this report.
• The establishment of a Civil and Criminal Recovery Unit.
• Provision for criminal and civil trial by judge alone, at the trial judge's direction in any case in which he considers no fair or effective trial could take place with a jury.
• Disqualification from membership of the Legislature of those who have been convicted of serious criminal offences for longer periods than presently prescribed
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