Skelton Cline slams VI’s lopsided power structure
Political Commentator Claude Skelton Cline has warned that the imbalance between elected and non-elected officials in the Virgin Islands is crippling good governance and slowing national progress.
In his most recent Honestly Speaking radio broadcast, Skelton Cline highlighted what he described as a “glitch” in the 2007 Constitution and criticised the government’s failure to conduct business due to disagreements over who should preside in Cabinet meetings when the governor is absent.
“In some areas, our Constitution is silent,” Skelton Cline explained. “In some ways… it is also sufficiently vague, not by accident or incident or chance, but by intention.”
He pointed to recent boycotts by elected members, which led to meetings being cancelled because the deputy governor, acting as governor, was presiding. Although the Constitution allows the deputy governor to act as governor, elected officials argue that Cabinet should instead be chaired by the premier or deputy premier.
“You can’t get the people’s business conducted,” Skelton Cline bemoaned while citing missed meetings during the governor’s absence.
The talk show host said both elected and non-elected officials have valid arguments. “Both of you are right, and both of you are dead wrong,” he argued. “What we cannot afford to do is constantly be seen as fighting amongst ourselves at the expense of not being able to conduct the people’s business.”
Skelton Cline criticised what he sees as a growing concentration of power in the hands of non-elected officials, including the governor and deputy governor, who are not subject to the same accountability mechanisms as elected leaders.
“If there’s no mechanism in place to hold the unelected officials accountable… You see how lopsided it becomes,” he asserted.
He further claimed the recently passed Public Service Management Act 2024 expands the governor’s powers over the civil service, a move he argued contradicts the original intent of the Constitution.
“You have now shifted and increased and expanded the governor’s role… not even to the deputy governor,” he stated.
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The BVI is a British Colony. Until there is full independence the UK will set the rules from London.
It is not a Colony. It is a Territory. That is why the name of Colony Day was changed to Teritory Day.
It is not clear why it was changed to Virgin Islands Day as it remains a Territory of the UK.
I wonder when Independence does appropriately arrive what Virgin Islands day will be changed to then?
If we join the USVI as our choice then I guess it would be USVI day. A sad day that would be.
I respect and appreciate the knowledge shared but my friend your to smart to call The BVI a colony since everyone else knows its a territory including yourself.
The Governor is not a man, it is an office. When the governor is away there is a reason they go through a process to make the Deputy the acting Governor. He is legally the Governor, the office remains responsible for what it’s supposed to do.
CSC’s veiled complaint is that senior public servants hold elected officials accountable and act as a check and balance against undue POLITICAL influence.
The system is working as it is supposed to in order to keep the people’s business and the people’s money (relatively) safe.
He needs to let the barber slam that lopsided hairline!
All ideas should be respected, to each his own, but connecting with the sister USVI would be a far greater beneficial proposition than the current political UK alignment.
Colonialism must be declassified. It is a relic of war, genocide, appropriation and slavery.
Therefore, it has no business impeding the progress of humanity.
However, disunity, mistrust, lack of knowledge, and an unevolved mind still steeped in the after effects of slavery will be the greatest obstacle to any future political VI progress.
Commentary: Time to Clarify the Boundaries of Acting Authority
Whether one agrees with him or not—and God knows I am not a fan—Claude Skelton Cline raises a matter that demands resolution in the upcoming constitutional review.
Section 49 of the Virgin Islands Constitution is unambiguous:
(1) The Governor shall, so far as practicable, attend and preside at meetings of the Cabinet.
(2) In the absence of the Governor, there shall preside at any meeting of the Cabinet the Premier, or in his or her absence, the Deputy Premier.
The language is clear. But Section 37 introduces a complication:
(1) During any period when the office of Governor is vacant, or the Governor is absent from the Virgin Islands, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions of office—
(a) the Deputy Governor; or
(b) if that office is also vacant or the Deputy Governor is unavailable, a person designated by Her Majesty—
shall, during Her Majesty’s pleasure, act in the office of Governor and perform its functions accordingly.
By convention, once appointed, the Acting Governor may exercise all the functions of the Governor, except where the Constitution or any other law expressly provides otherwise. In effect, the Acting Governor is cloaked with the full constitutional authority of the office—but only to the extent that no specific limitation is imposed by law or constitutional convention.
This is precisely where constitutional ambiguity arises. The Constitution does not clearly state:
• Whether an Acting Governor is to be regarded as “the Governor” for the purposes of Section 49(1); or
• Whether, in such cases, the Premier should still preside over Cabinet meetings.
Is Section 49 a Viable Limitation on the Acting Governor?
This is a valid and timely question. There is a credible constitutional argument that Section 49, being specific in its wording, may operate as a viable limitation on the general authority granted to the Acting Governor under Section 37.
Section 37 confers general authority -“Ashall perform the functions of that office accordingly.” But Section 49 is specific – it declares that “in the absence of the Governor,” the Premier shall preside.
Applying the legal maxim generalia specialibus non derogant (the general does not derogate from the specific), one could argue that Section 49 expressly limits Cabinet chairmanship to the Premier during the Governor’s absence – even if another is acting in the post. This interpretation gains weight especially in cases where the Acting Governor is not politically accountable (e.g. the Deputy Governor acting administratively), raising questions of democratic legitimacy.
If left unclarified, this tension risks undermining the coherence of executive decision-making and may erode confidence in the balance of power between the Crown’s representative and the elected government.
Where did you copy and paste that from? because I know you don’t have the mental capacity to recite all of that on your own. Just asking for a friend.
Ukite come take over at it again today.
All you all going to worm territory leaving these rocks right here, for some to continue claiming for them selves till they gone.
THE CITY SLICKER ,IS SAYING )> AH KNO WAH AM GONNA SAY , IS GONNA TOUCH SOME AH YA’AL SOULS , SO AM GONNA PUT ON MY FAMOUS ” MILLION DOLLAR SMILE ” HOPEFULLY IT WILL HELP TO EASE YA’AL PAIN & SORROWS – I DONE FRIGGED UP ALREADY SO IF WAH AH SAY HUTT AR-YO I DON’T CARE 2 SH*T – AR-YO CAN’T STOP YO BOI FROM HOLLERING OUT
You do not want a white Governor
You do not want one of your own in the position
You are still under the thumbs of the UK
When your own get to lead you boycott?
WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE are you ?
You complain about too much belongers
You complain about expatiate taking the jobs
You complain about slavery that was WRONG
Yet we undermine the BVI Black Governor
You complain about young BVI out of jobs
Yet when given the first priority you underperform and say your pay grade does not involve ABC responsibilities
Last to reach on the job and first to leave
Take sick days every month
Watch each other
performance and measure with your volume of work
But the belonger and the expatriates will work the extra hours, come to work every day, do the extra and nerdly complain
Who is more productive to the country
Figure it out !!’n
The more than average attirudes of people in the territory
From the outside looking in it seems there are too many politicians and not enough people with the means to implement these ideas. It shouldn’t take multiple years to fix roads. Clearly people are having trouble planning important projects and seem as though they aren’t planning finances efficiently.
Don’t matter how they talking independence and colonialism, they want a white man from UK presiding over the BVI, if UK send a black governor it will be the same mistrust, so if we get independence a black governor general might have to be a close family like probably John cline or Claude becomes the governor so the premier can have a puppet.
Yes, we complain about slavery not because we can, but that your race, the bebeficiaries, does not think it was wrong then or now, and that stirs our moral awareness to humiliating degrees.
Yes, we complain about slavery because you and your kind in power has shown no moral capacity to pay for the crimes committed.
Yes, we complain because you are the beneficiaries of evil.
Yes, we complain because you still refuse to think like or be human to us.
Yes, we complain because your kind, the white European, has kept us in pure hell for the existence of your tenure on this earth.
Do we not have the right to complain then, after the facts?