STATEMENT BY MR. BENITO WHEATLEY; SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE PREMIER OF THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Your Excellencies,
You will recall the political crisis in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) earlier this year that was brought to the attention of the C-24 at the UN Pacific Regional Seminar on Decolonization in Saint Lucia from 11th-12th May. Coming out of that crisis, the United Kingdom (UK) Government and BVI Government of National Unity agreed a framework for the Territorial Government to implement reforms under continued democratic governance aimed at strengthening the institutions and systems of Government and transforming the handling of the Government’s business.
Substantial progress has been made over the course of the last three months through the hard work and dedication of all parties concerned. Some deadlines have slipped as Government has ramped up its operations and undertaken public consultations, but reform is going in the right direction.
Progress has been assessed on a monthly and quarterly basis. The first quarterly progress report was published yesterday by the Territory’s Governor, His Excellency Mr. John J. Rankin, CMG, who serves as the UK’s representative in the islands. The report acknowledged the progress made, but highlighted some areas of concern.
Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. Hon. Natalio D. Wheatley and his Ministerial team have since discussed with the Governor the key issues raised in his report. After a thorough discussion, Premier Wheatley is of the view that several of the concerns are a genuine misunderstanding of the situation in some areas. Unfortunately, there was not an opportunity to thoroughly review and discuss the report before its publication, which would have clarified and cleared up some of the misunderstandings.
For example, there appears to have been a misunderstanding about tender waivers. The system of procurement now in place under the Territory’s Procurement Act requires procurement to be done either through open tendering, restricted tendering or single source procurement. The circumstances in which each can be done is clearly defined in the law and is supposed to improve competitive bidding, value for money and transparency. As a Territory that is fully self-funded, we believe this is extremely important.
The Government is currently transitioning previously signed rolling contracts for various services such as school transportation into the new system. In the meantime, however, we cannot simply stop the transportation arrangements in place to transport students back and forth to school. A transition period is necessary to integrate previously signed rolling contracts into the new system. This is but one of the clarifications, among others, made by Premier Wheatley and his Ministerial team in discussions with the Governor. What is important is that reform is going in the right direction and the Territorial Government is committed to implementing the agreed framework of reforms.
The Premier and his delegation will further engage the UK Government on the progress of reform when they travel to London early next month to attend Ministerial talks between UK Ministers and British Overseas Territories Political Leaders. Among other things, the BVI delegation will encourage the UK Government to reconsider their current position on maintaining an Order in Council in reserve that allows the Governor to impose direct rule over the islands at his discretion. This form of pressure can weaken democratic governance and is an obstacle to building a new genuine modern partnership between the UK and BVI that is based on trust and supports the aspirations of the people of the Territory. There should also be sensitivity about the feelings of the Commonwealth Caribbean on this issue in terms of the colonial past. A new modern partnership can be established if both sides act in good faith.
As I close, I reiterate the BVI’s previous request for a C-24 visiting mission to the Territory. We are grateful to the Committee and Member States more generally for their continued interest in the question of the British Virgin Islands as one of the 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs) that has yet to attain a full measure of self-government. I also want to thank CARICOM and OECS for their commitment to supporting the BVI, especially with technical assistance for reform.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you.