BVI News

Hold gov’t accountable for the yet-to-be-delivered Freedom of Information Act

Governor Augustus Jaspert

Residents of the British Virgin Islands should hold their elected representatives accountable for the constantly promised and yet-to-be-delivered Freedom of Information Act, Governor Augustus Jaspert has said.

The Act has been a constant fixture in the Speech from the Throne in the last few years. The Speech from the Throne is delivered by the sitting Governor and is done to outline the legislative agenda the elected government plans to pursue.

“It is really important that those speeches from the Throne are implemented,” the Governor said during a press conference on Friday. “That is something that I hope you all (the public) hold us to account … the government and the public service has a duty to then implement them.”

His remarks were made in light of another Speech from the Throne scheduled for the next few weeks.

History of promises

In March last year, Governor Jaspert’s Speech from the Throne under the previous National Democratic Party administration said Government was planning to implement the piece of legislation in the House of Assembly in 2018.

During that time, he said he had noticed a trend where former governors made legislative promises in their respective throne speeches that local government never followed through on.

Freedom of Information is one such Bill that has often recurred. But Governor Jaspert hopes this year is the final time talks to introduce the legislation will be mentioned in a Speech from the Throne, he said at the time.

“The Freedom of Information Act is something that I support … I hope that when we get back from summer break, it will be brought forward,” the Governor had said.

If the Bill is ever introduced and formally passed, it will include ‘guidelines on how persons can access public records without any exemptions’, Governor Jaspert had said back in March.

The Bill is also expected to include recommendations for the establishment of a Freedom of Information Unit, which will provide the public with ‘the appropriate administrative mechanism to make and receive requests’.

In response to the much-touted Bill, then Opposition Leader Andrew Fahie said if the NDP failed to implement the Bill, he would have it implemented if his Virgin Islands Party is elected into office.

It is now left to be seen if Fahie, who is now the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, will keep his word.

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22 Comments

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  1. strupes says:

    All ayo are a waste of time

    • BVIlander says:

      As I read through these comments I am wondering if this is political propaganda or if MY PEOPLE are really this stupid. To have all these senseless comments attacking the governor and former government when the suggestion in the article is a sensible one, to begin to fight for the freedom of information act that will benefit us as a people. If this is the level of intelligence of my BVI people being displayed on this blog we really are in trouble, we are truly a bunch of lunatics.

  2. vip heckler says:

    Them don’t want to answer no questions that’s why it’s not forthcoming

  3. Well says:

    This man did not investigate the ndp and now talking piddle

    Like 7
    Dislike 18
  4. People says:

    This is the worse governor ever. He has his own agenda and let the last government rob us blind.

    Like 8
    Dislike 28
  5. Hmmm says:

    We needed a new governor. This one is a failure.

    Like 8
    Dislike 26
  6. My take says:

    Governors should be seen and not heard.

    Like 9
    Dislike 20
  7. school children says:

    Between us they say he working with members of the last government for him to try to destroy the present government so he can try to take over to get a promotion from back home.

    Like 8
    Dislike 17
    • True says:

      This article is part of that agenda. He wants to run for political office when he goes back to the UK. “Delivering the BVI” would be a feather in his cap.

      Like 2
      Dislike 13
  8. Hold him too says:

    We must hold the governor accountable because he doesn’t want to investigate the plane, pier park and mamy other questionable act in his time in government. He met the wall beimg investigate so that is not him. He is a waste of time.

    Like 7
    Dislike 16
  9. Stay inform says:

    The Governor is playing the BVI people for fools. Under the Constitution he alone has the power to investigate anything in government that seems to have gone wrong. The reason he is avoiding it is because he is trying to save his friends in the last administration. He needs looking into.

    Like 7
    Dislike 15
  10. SMDH says:

    All this guy does is blog bad all day on the present government while ignoring the past ones wrong doings. What a wicked man.

    Like 10
    Dislike 12
  11. Truth says:

    This man is about himself and all he is trying to do is to put us to fit each other so that he can try to take over. The BVI deserves better than this man.

    Like 8
    Dislike 15
  12. Public officer says:

    A spoiled brat when they don’t get what they want. This defines the guy.

    Like 5
    Dislike 9
  13. My opinion says:

    The Constitution needs modernizing to hold governors accountable.

    Like 4
    Dislike 9
  14. Quiet says:

    Why did you stay quiet for so long while the NDP was doing so much wrong, but you want to vilify the VIP which just come? Seems you liked how things were going under NDP? Something fishy.

    Like 2
    Dislike 9

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