Governor yields, assents to Register of Interests Act with conditions
After months of deliberation, Governor John Rankin has agreed to give assent to the Register of Interests (ROI) Act passed in the House of Assembly (HOA) by lawmakers.
But Governor Rankin insists that his concerns remain over a lack of transparency in the legislature’s amendments to the ROI Act and has given the government one year to review the legislation to deliver on previously expressed commitments.
“After much consideration, I have decided to assent to the Act as passed by the House of Assembly. I do so in the hope that members of the public will make such proper use of the information contained in the Register as they can, and with a clear expectation that the House of Assembly will return to this subject within one year to design a new system for registration of interests,” Governor Rankin said yesterday.
According to the governor, the government committed in the Framework for Implementation of the Commission of Inquiry Report recommendations to make the Register of Interests public.
However, Governor Rankin argued that amendments lawmakers made to the legislation run counter to the principle of transparency and the government’s commitment in the framework document to make the ROI public. “At best, the Register will only be made public in a highly limited way,” he noted.
“The purpose of a public register is clear: to produce greater transparency around the interests of Ministers and others who are making decisions on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, including for example, about the use of public money in awarding of government contracts where ministers are involved, or the declarations of interests which might be directly or indirectly related to the business of government,” the governor argued.
He further noted that this can aid in promoting good governance and reduce the risk that a person has failed to register their interests properly, as clearly happened in the past with lawmakers.
The governor further explained that his expectation that the government will return to the legislation within that timeframe is hinged on the government’s commitment in the document to develop a new system for the registration of interests to cover both elected and public officials.
Both lawmakers and other public officials erupted over these proposed changes when the new legislation was first brought to the HOA by Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley, forcing the government to go back to the drawing board and return with minimal changes to the previous Act.
The new system, according to Governor Rankin, should be based on international best practices, accompanied by an implementation plan inclusive of costs for the introduction and maintenance of the system.
While mentioning all the things he isn’t pleased with, Governor Rankin also reminded elected leaders that, “it is vital that the commitments made under the framework document are adhered to.”
The United Kingdom has previously reminded elected leaders that power can be snatched away if recommendations for good governance aren’t done according to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.
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So what happen to all the corruption and arrests that they say was going to happen because of the COI? If we cannot see that this was a whole make up story by the UK then we are completely blind. You notice that the governor stop talking about the COI now? No more big speeches on it because they have nothing! They made this up to have more control over the county.
Which party is the governor running with? He moving like he is running for election and not a governor. Am I the only one who noticed this?
The question is what do these Ministers have to hide? Clearly something wrong if they hiding things from the people.
Weak again. We demand full transparency and accountability from these crooks.
All leaders should be held accountable and be elected by the people of the BVI including the Governor.
Who is investigating John and mark ?
Transparency is not just for elected officials and public officers but also the Governors. They are wielding too much power without any way for the people of the BVI to hold them accountable and also to have them look into when necessary. This needs immediate attention. They can look into us but we the people cannot look into them. This is not right.
temporarily resolved for 1 year.
Who does the governor account to? Is it only the local leaders who can use their office to enrich themselves? Can’t the governor do that as well or is he deemed to be honest because he carry the title governor? He wields significant power that can make him corrupt as well. This two standard principal that we have is a problem.
There will never be transparency with this government. Never!
First, to have such tremendous power over a people’s country, affairs and them, one should be elected by those people.
If not, what is the difference between that personality, Hitler, Mousilini, Stalin, King Leopold and other such despots?
Is it. even legal for a country to weild such unilateral power over another country and its people?
Think it is the 21st century and time has come or is approaching for seperation from an entity that never in its history had any respect for a certain race of people referred to as Black or African descendants.
Rankin we are stick of You and the UK
I don’t know how our black selves could ever think that these people have our best interest at heart. Something wrong with us
is not a compromise when one side gets their way.
In this case, to the detriment of the people.
This edict has no teeth. It will never be enforced; government officials, board members and civil servants will continue to be allowed to award contracts to themselves, friends and family, change rules to their benefit and penalize those who stand in their way.
I guess the UK is cutting us loose after all.
So only public officers and elected officials can be crooks? What about Governors? Plenty rumours surrounding them especially the last two.
YEP ?
@??? The governor is running in the party that will take over the BVI if this government don’t do better he shouldn’t give them a year to do anything because they are going to keep on doing what they want because they feel that the UK won’t take over because the UK is afraid of three friends.
I don’t understand this move by the governor… They not going to revisit nothing… They don’t want to do it in the first place! This smell like a set up… like yeaI I giving y’all enough rope to hang y’all selves. Cause why assent the act now to still be back and forth arguing over what should happen. What is the extra year for? The reason they didn’t do what was recommended is because they don’t intend to! He expect the sentiment to change in a year time?
The same people who raped and murders our foreparents and pillaged and plundered our community to enrich England have now returned to play the beacons of virtue. GTFOH with that BS Boss.
The UK is very good at using patience and documentation to defeat its foes – just wait and see
You are right. We are their foe. We need to get it through our thick skulls that they are here in the BVI for their own interest and not for ours.
These A**Clowns that we call leaders are all about how much they can steal while in office. If their concern is that they do not want transparency when in fact transparency is a check to ensure you do not stay in office forever and ever, then they need to go sit down…