The Minister for Americas and the Overseas Territories the Right Honourable Jesse Norman will be visiting the British Virgin Islands next week.
Governor His Excellency John Rankin confirmed the visit during a press conference on Wednesday.
He said the minister’s visit will be on Thursday and Friday, adding that he plans to meet with a number of government members including Premier Dr. the Honourable Natalio Wheatley.
“I’m pleased to let you know that Minister Norman is planning to visit the BVI next Thursday and Friday 27th and 28th of October. This will be an excellent opportunity for the minister to meet the premier, ministers and members of the House of Assembly and other key interlocutors and to listen to their views,” he stated.
“I know that the minister’s goal is to see a successful, thriving, well governed BVI. That is a goal which I share as governor and to which I remain committed,” the governor added.
Governor Rankin also informed the public of Norman’s response to the Quarterly Review report which was recently submitted to the United Kingdom Government, on the progress of the BVI Government in their implementation of the Commission of Inquiry Report recommendations.
He said the progress made was sufficient enough for the United Kingdom Government to approve the continuation of their current relationship with the implementation of the COI recommendations.
“In his letter, Minister Norman expressly recognises that there has been some real progress in implementation of the COI recommendations and that most deadlines have been met. He was also pleased to learn of the premier and the Cabinet’s overall continued commitment to driving delivery in the constructive partnership,” Governor Rankin stated.
He added, “The minister concludes his letter by agreeing overall that progress in this initial period of the Commission Of inquiry implementation has been sufficient to continue the current approach.”
Norman concerned about tender waivers
The governor also revealed that the Minister for Overseas Territories is not too pleased with the continued approach of the National Unity Government towards addressing the issue of tender waivers.
Rankin said he has been instructed by Minister Norman to submit a report at the start of December on the issue of tender waivers and Single Source Procurement so that Norman can assess the progress ahead of the next Quarterly Review report which is slated for January.
“The minister also notes the concerns expressed in the quarterly review, including in relation to tender waivers. He notes the framework document contained a clear commitment to ensuring that tender waivers are only agreed in exceptional unavoidable cases and which must be explained publicly. On the Public Procurement Act, Single Source Procurement must only be used in exceptional circumstances,” he stated.
“The minister makes clear his expectation that there will be immediate and substantial improvement in this area while recognizing that there may be some legacy procurement issues from the previous administration which should be addressed proactively and promptly. The minister asked me to submit a report at the start of December on the issue of tender waivers and Single Source Procurement so that he can assess progress ahead of the next quarterly review in the public interest,” Rankin further stated.
During a recent press conference, Premier Dr. the Honourable Natalio Wheatley dismissed the claims made by the Governor in his Quarterly Review report which accused the National Unity Government of continuing to unjustifiably issue tender waivers for some government contracts.
He said the claims made in the Quarterly Review regarding tender waivers were inaccurate, adding that his government utilised three main procurement options when issuing government contracts, which included open tendering, restricted tendering, and single-source procurement.