UK doesn’t want to take BVI’s power away

Penn

Although the UK has sent a strong warning that they won’t hesitate to take power away from elected leaders, Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn said he doesn’t believe Britain is excited to take control of the territory’s affairs.

Talking Points host Elvin Smith asked Penn whether he believes the UK will proceed with harsh measures if the BVI government misses good governance deliverables they’ve promised by May this year.

In response, Penn said he thinks the UK actually wants the BVI to deliver what they’ve promised in order to improve good governance in the territory.

“The sense I get is that the UK doesn’t want to make that move, they want us to do our work and I think we just need to do our work. We need to hold the Premier and his team accountable for doing their work,” Penn stated. “When we were a Unity Government, we did our work. All the things that were under the ministry I was in charge of at the time, were done before the election.”

At the same time, Penn said persons should know that some COI deliverables fall under the Governor’s Group, and those leaders should be held accountable as well.

Earlier this year, UK Minister for the Overseas Territories David Rutley delivered a threat to the BVI government, saying the UK will not hesitate to invoke additional powers over the BVI if they continue to delay the promised good governance deliverables.

But after visiting the territory and meeting with the government, Rutley said the discussions were productive and there was no reiteration of his promise to impose additional powers over the territory.

However, Rutley did say the BVI government should prioritise the outstanding governance reforms, most of which should be delivered by May 2024.

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