On the heels of indications from the premier that the government is moving swiftly along with meeting its obligations to implementing the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (COI), Representative for the 9th District Honourable Vincent Wheatley, is questioning the rush.
“What is the rush to get it done so fast? There can be good laws and bad laws!” he told the House of Assembly.
Though Wheatley agrees that legislative change was needed in the territory, he believes that the government may be proceeding carelessly to quickly meet the demands of the UK.
This he says, not only threatens to neglect the specific interests and needs of Virgin Islanders but could in fact be working against the territory in the long run, turning back the colonial clock.
Referencing a recent conversation with a friend, Wheatley said he was asked a justifiable question as to why the recommendations were being quickly implemented as if they were handed down as commandments.
Likening the situation to an everyday activity, Wheatley asked the house “If you go to a restaurant and a waiter says today I recommend this… do you say yes or do you look at the menus and look at the alternatives you have?”
Further expanding on his concerns, Wheatley begged the question of Britain’s moral foresight and cited recent developments within its own government as clear indications that the country may not be the best role model.
“They have no moral authority right now! Anybody who is following will see the debacle that is happening in the UK right now. What gives you the moral authority to come and tell me certain things?” he questioned.
Wheatley stressed that at this milestone in BVI history, it is only in the best interest of governing officials to navigate in a manner that prioritizes the need, interests, and trust of the citizenry – and to act as the leaders they were elected to be.