Public in the dark over COI implementation — Skelton

A section of the main island of Tortola.

Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton has suggested that many of the real issues affecting the Commission of Inquiry’s (COI) recommendations and their implementation have been shrouded in secrecy.

The previous Government of National Unity agreed in 2022 to a timeline for the implementation of nearly 50 good governance recommendations arising from the COI report.

Over the past year, Governor Rankin has consistently chided the government for its failure to meet agreed deadlines concerning the framework agreement for the implementation of COI recommendations.

As a result of this, the governor recently contended that there is a need for additional powers from the United Kingdom, which he said are necessary because there has not been sufficient drive and determination across the various ministries and departments to deliver on the agreed-upon COI deadlines.

But Skelton, while standing in solidarity with the government over its rejection of more powers for the governor, claimed that the current parliamentary opposition has been left in the dark over the inner workings of those arrangements.

According to Skelton, “There are certain issues, discussions, and agreements between the government of the Virgin Islands and the government of the UK of which the opposition and the people of the Virgin Islands have not yet been made aware.”

The Opposition Leader told reporters at a recent press conference that it would be a retrograde and unnecessary step in the furtherance of governance and democracy for the governor to be granted the enhanced powers he is now seeking.

“There are issues that the Premier and the Governor, they discussed, this is a normal modus operandi in government, that you sign secrecy [agreements],” Skelton said. “You can’t go then after you have decided to hold it in confidence and then say about it.”

The Opposition Leader expressed that the Premier must now reveal the true nature of those conversations and agreements for the opposition and government to form a united front.

“At some point, the Premier is going to have to find some way of letting us know what he has agreed to, what the British government wants, and so we can actually get together as opposition and government, and defend our country,” Skelton added.

Drakes_650x200