Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Vincent Wheatley has voiced his disapproval in the manner of which the Premier of the Virgin Islands was displayed in a recent Commission of Inquiry hearing.
Minister Wheatley in a recent appearance on the Honestly Speaking radio programme said he believes that Premier Andrew Fahie during his hearing was questioned and portrayed as though he was some sort of criminal.
He said, “I watched the premier a while ago, all I could do is shake my head. Here’s the leader of the country being grilled like a criminal in public space all over the world, being watched all around the world, the leader of a democratic country being grilled by an 1880 Act. That is what I am talking about the long game.”
“As leaders we cannot only solve problems for now or problems for the past, we too must learn to play the long game. We must be able to see the way down the road,” he added.
COI was strategically activated
The minister took a trip down memory lane as he highlighted significant historical periods in the British Virgin Islands to justify his point that the United Kingdom Government has been playing the long game with the territory.
He said the ongoing Commission of Inquiry is not coincidental and he believes it was strategically activated.
“1853 another significant period, it’s when we had the Cattle Tax Riot. 1880 something significant began to happen in the BVI. It’s when the former slaves began to purchase property in the territory. 1880 is the year the Commission of Inquiry Act came into force,” Wheatley stated.
While adding other historic milestones in the BVI the minister said, “now we are here now in 2021, that Act from 1880, see what I tell you about the long game? They didn’t put that in there to affect anybody anytime before now you know. They play the long game. That Act is now what’s here around our neck like a mill stone.”
Minister Wheatley also said that it is the governor’s responsibility to ensure that the Overseas Territory of which he/she presides is operating in accordance with the stipulated procedures.
He said the absence of this guidance dates back decades and has contributed to the overall systematic issues that are being highlighted in the COI.
Wheatley who is also the Ninth District Representative said he believes the outcome of the COI will not be a bad thing for the territory as it will highlight the many deficiencies that need to be strengthened in the territory.
However, he said his only issue with the COI is the manner of how it is being conducted, which he deems as “being totally unnecessary.”