Forty-eight of 49.
That’s how many Commission of Inquiry recommendations the new National Unity Government has pledged to complete over the next two years under the proposal recently agreed with the United Kingdom. If it succeeds, UK leaders have promised to abandon the remaining COI recommendation to impose direct rule as they have done to force reforms in other overseas territories.
The agreement is the first of its kind, but meeting its lengthy list of deadlines won’t be easy, said Dr. Peter Clegg, an expert on the UK overseas territories at the University of the West of England in Bristol.
The proposal, he explained, could present challenges from several directions as the Virgin Islands government strives to cooperate with Governor John Rankin to reform institutions and tackle complex issues.
“It sets a precedent,” Dr. Clegg told the Beacon. “We’re in uncharted territory. And it’s a real challenge to see if there’s enough capacity, commitment, and resources by the local political class and the institutions in the BVI to really make a difference and to really address the issues with the support of the UK. But a lot of the emphasis and the need for action will have to come locally. And that will be really interesting to see whether they can actually sort their own house out.”
The VI government’s proposal — which was negotiated with the UK and revised behind closed doors before being accepted and published on June 8 — calls for the governor to be more involved in daily governance and for elected leaders to face new scrutiny. Legislators will, for instance, be required to submit regular reports of their progress in executing the COI reforms, hold frequent dialogue meetings across all sectors of governance, and institute more transparent processes for selling land and approving major contracts, among other major reforms.
While the proposal broadly outlines the new responsibilities of government bodies and explains the accountability, monitoring, cooperation and financial adjustments required to execute the reforms, most of its 22 pages are dedicated to listing specific deadlines for completing COI Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom’s recommendations.
“The ultimate objectives of the reform process are to deliver justice where wrongdoing is found, engender a new culture in government in the handling of the public’s business, and ensure the effective functioning of the government institutions and systems that support good governance,” the proposal states, adding, “Delivering these objectives for the people of the Virgin Islands is at the heart of this proposal and will have other meaningful benefits.”
Widespread changes
If implemented as promised, the proposal will result in widespread changes in almost all areas of government. It includes recommendations for a constitutional review, audits and other investigations, as well as reforms associated with elected officials’ interests, assistance grants, the awarding of contracts, residency and belongership, the public service, and law and justice, among others.
But that agenda, Dr. Clegg noted, includes several previously controversial issues.
“There’ll be some divisions and disagreements over policy,” he predicted.
When the UK implemented direct rule in the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2009 following a similar COI, he said, reforming the belongership process and cutting the public service proved to be among the issues that caused the most disagreement.
“There’ll be some disagreements over funding,” he added. “Who funds it and how much funding should go into a certain issue? And, you know, who wins that battle? Would the governor, would the British government, be prepared to show this strength and flex their muscles? To really say, ‘Actually, you have no choice but to do this’?”
Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley has touted the proposal as an innovative solution that will bring urgently needed reforms without a temporary suspension of the elected legislature, which he has said would be a step backward toward colonialism.
Colin O’Neal, CEO of Joma Properties, said the deal represents a chance for the territory to “put things right,” adding that “anything practical that can be done to maintain the continuation of representative government ought to be attempted at the very least.”
However, he said he expects a “tough challenge” ahead, particularly in meeting a series of deadlines he called “ambitious.”
“The resources that are available to them, obviously, are very limited, and other priorities play at the same time,” he said. “Day-to-day activities of government and country have to continue; infrastructure has to continue to get built.”
Backbench scepticism
Even before the proposal was released, it faced questions from at least one elected member of Dr. Wheatley’s government.
Backbencher Carvin Malone (R-at large), who stepped down from his former position as health and social development minister shortly before the formation of the National Unity Government, seemed to undercut some of the proposal’s commitments in a statement released the day before the document was published. Mr. Malone, for instance, appeared to contradict one of the proposal’s pledges by suggesting that elections — constitutionally due by early next year — should be held before the proposal proceeds.
“It is my measured and considered view that serious and immediate consideration MUST be given to the voice of the people who are calling for general elections to determine who, in their best judgement, are best suited to lead in the implementation of reform and in the transition into a NEW BVI,” he wrote.
