Fahie may be used, Fraser suggests

A suggestion is being made that Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Andrew Fahie may be used as a pawn in a United Kingdom-linked affair that “doesn’t smell right”.

Opposition member Julian Fraser made the suggestion regarding his colleague while he questioned the appointment of United Kingdom natives to virtually all highly sensitive law enforcement posts in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Fraser went on to hint at the probability of Governor Duncan using his compatriots in law enforcement to investigate, and arrest members of the government.

Fahie, who is the only BVI native cited in the scenario, is presented as the governor’s “personal preference”.

Fraser, in one of two references to Fahie, said: “All the vital arms of law enforcement and investigation are in the hands and direct control of UK nationals, answerable only to the governor, who himself is a UK national. Something doesn’t smell right. Remember the Governor now has his own personal preference for Leader of the Opposition who is also Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (Fahie).”

Fraser and Fahie have been at loggerheads since – among other things – Governor Duncan recently stripped Fraser of the title of Leader of the Opposition, and instead conferred it on Fahie.

One of the main reasons the governor changed the Leader of the Opposition is that Fahie, late last year, unseated Fraser as Chairman of the Opposition Virgin Islands Party in an internal election.

That was the same principle used earlier to appoint Fraser as Leader of the Opposition, when he defeated Fahie for chairmanship of the opposition party.

Constitutionally, chairmanship of a party does not determine who becomes Leader of the Opposition.

Elected members of the Opposition usually vote for who they want to occupy the post. The majority rules.

However, it is currently impossible to get such a majority among elected Opposition members, considering that there are only two of them in the House of Assembly, and both of them wanted to be Leader of the Opposition.

Probe and Prison – Fraser ‘smells’ UK appointments