COMMENTARY: Stop the hollow electioneering and come clean

By Dickson Igwe, Contributor

In the heat of the Virgin Islands general election campaign, the one matter that appears overlooked, amidst the thrusts, hustings and rhetorical shuffling of electioneering, is how politicians intend to fulfil the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

Now, an incoming government post the April 24, 2023, General Election will face a ‘’tricky’’ landscape. Governance will involve walking through a ‘thick jungle of pits, traps, and dangerous beasts.’

In the quest to govern, a new premier and his or her ministers will face a ‘Sword of Damocles’ hanging over the land. The Order in Council threatening the suspension of the Virgin Islands Constitution will serve as a check on any government that fails to fulfil the requirements of the Commission. Springing from that Order in Council will be tension in managing the affairs of state.

Consequently, there is no point in avoiding the COI on the campaign trail. Voters want to know the what, where, how, when, and who of implementing the recommendations of the Commission.

We all know the why, which is the collapse in integrity and justice in managing the affairs of the country by past governments going back over 25 years. There is no innocent party. The latest revelations include the abuse of the grant process, issues in the granting of Belonger status, and the arrest of the former premier for drug-related charges in Miami.

Before that, there was the alleged mismanagement of funds by the previous government. These allegations of the COI leave no one untarnished, apart from a few ‘’newbies’’ who can claim the ‘’innocence of a virgin raped by some rapacious beast.’’

Issues that require immediate attention include fixing the garbage dump at Pockwood Pond; building safer roads; enforcing safety rules for scooters and motorbikes; fixing water and sewerage woes in specific locations; ensuring better health insurance; and correcting the matter of politician’s pensions.

Therefore, please come clean to voters, and state how you will govern effectively, while fully implementing the COI Recommendations.

Above all, refrain from the diversionary tactics of attempting to provide Joe Public with ‘’worthless entertainment’’ by spouting words that are actually meaningless, with the objective of grabbing power by accident, which even a two-year-old can see.