Premier Dr. the Honourable Natalio Wheatley has said that he is of the opinion that the issues highlighted by the governor in his recently published Quarterly Review report came from a genuine place of misunderstanding.
The premier made the comment during a press conference on Friday, October 7, as he responded to the criticisms issued by His Excellency Governor John Rankin in the report.
He said upon taking a look at the document and discovering what was said on some of the topics, he proceeded to call a meeting with the governor to discuss the respective issues.
“In any partnership or friendship, there will be disagreements and misunderstandings. It is important that we deal with them maturely and in such a way that strengthens the partnership rather than eroding it,” Premier Wheatley stated.
“In terms of the concerns he highlighted, my ministerial colleagues and I have had an opportunity to engage the Governor to properly understand the source of his concerns. After a thorough discussion, I believe there is a genuine misunderstanding on the particular issues, which we, unfortunately, did not have an opportunity to discuss and clarify before publication,” he explained.
Governor also guilty of missing deadlines
Premier Wheatley also made it clear that his government was not the only party guilty of missing deadlines, adding that the governor also did miss a number of deadlines.
He said, “We were very ambitious in our commitments and, unfortunately, deadlines have been missed. It is important to note that deadlines have been missed on the governor’s side as well as on the side of Cabinet. In all instances, these deadlines have been missed for good reason.”
“For instance, we have insisted that the Jury Act and the Register of Interests Act, both which fall under the governor’s groups’ responsibilities, receive proper consultation as opposed to being rushed through the legislative process. We understand this not to be a box ticking exercise but a real effort for real and sustained change, and this is not something that should be rushed. It is important to acknowledge, however, we are heading in the right direction,” he added.
94% of the reforms either completed or commenced
In the meantime, Premier Wheatley also indicated that his government has either commenced or completed at least 94 percent of the reforms which were set out in their framework.
“We have made substantial progress, but there is much more work to do to get the job done. By the end of August, 94 percent of the recommendations were completed or were in progress to be completed. We have worked hard, and I would like to thank all the hard-working public servants, reviewers, ministers, and legislators for all their hard work thus far. I can say with confidence that everyone involved is truly committed to reform,” Dr. Wheatley stated.