Non-stop spending! Governors won’t dictate how gov’t uses public purse
Governor John Rankin has pushed back strongly at assertions that the United Kingdom-appointed governors have sat back over the years and allowed the elected government of the territory to run roughshod over its citizens.
The Governor, in an interview with ZBVI Radio, said he did not feel such criticisms were fair, noting that previous governors have spoken up and have taken action in the past.
The Governor’s comments come in the wake of criticisms the government received over its allocation of $250,000 towards a free concert to celebrate the arrival of non-stop flights from American Airlines.
Rankin expressed that, while he welcomed the direct flights from Miami through American Airlines, he would not advise the government on how it spends monies from the public purse.
“Under the United Nations charter, I need to support self-governance in this territory, and by carrying out the reforms of the Commission of Inquiry report, we can help to put the BVI better on that road towards self-governance,” Governor Rankin commented.
He added: “I help and work with the territory in a number of areas – in health, in the environment, in security. Those have been my priorities. But the question of whether the elected government is right to spend its money on a concert or not is a matter for the elected government.”
Meanwhile, Governor Rankin pointed out that former governor John Duncan previously stepped in and made an order under the constitution for the use of the consolidated fund to provide more resources for security in the territory when the government of the day was neglecting to do so itself.
“[Duncan] was criticised for stepping in that way, but he stepped in, [and] used that extraordinary power under the constitution to support and my predecessor Governor [Augustus] Jaspert certainly spoke up clearly over his concerns over governance,” Governor Rankin said.
“Of course, what we always want to do is to get the government of the day to address those issues of concern,” the Governor continued. “I have regular, private discussions in areas of concern and areas of encouragement.”
He indicated that governors have traditionally preferred to communicate through such private discussions and mechanisms.
However, he noted that if this approach fails, then sometimes governors need to step in and that is what Governor Jaspert did by ordering the Commissioner of Inquiry. He further noted that this is what ‘additional powers’ protested by Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley recently could be about.
Governor Rankin added, however, that he was hopeful that the government of the day would deliver the reforms that are required on its own.
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Governor you need to step in in order to stop this madness because the VIP government is just wasting taxpayers money, 3/4 of a billion for the two terms added together.
After the criminality and corruption of the recent governments our only hope was the Governor.
What happened? We got a weak and vacillating non entity seemingly too afraid to do anything.
Publish the reports or I will he said .
Did they publish , no. Did he, of course not.
Frankly they just laugh at him. No tender contracts must stop he says. Have they? Of course not , the corruption train rolls on.
Lets hope the next one has more cojones but somehow I doubt it.
Governor Rankin you soft have no back bone.
Give the VIP enough rope and they will hang themselves. Eventually this Guv’s warning will stop and the Order in Council will be enforced around the time the new governor arrives.
Without direct intervention by the UK, we will become like Haiti. The UK has let us down since the CoI report and the arrest of Head Coach.
A huge thank you. Soon the entire world will be different and many in the BVI will be shocked when they see the truth. It’s only the beginning. A new world is coming.
Please let us know in order that we do not waste our times reading the complaints of people who did not bother to show up at the polls.
I personally will not give an audience to any such persons and their complaints. They are dismissed.
They were to take over this country and fix it. Then we won’t have all these problems. Put proper structure, procedures and policy in place, then give it back to us..Now the disrespect continues from where the X-P left off..
Oh my Wheatley already put us in the uk hands but it have more to come this is just the beginning.New world New atmosphere on its way.
I knew this was coming, I didnt even read the post, ayo too nuff, waste money doing foolishness, now look.
And if the Governor did step in to try and stop it, every person from BVI would be making racist hateful comments about the UK, saying that all white expats should leave!