Walwyn: BVI must attract qualified people if it adopts bicameral system

Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn has suggested that the Virgin Islands will need to find ways to attract qualified and capable individuals if the territory moves toward a bicameral system of government to strengthen its lawmaking process.

Speaking in the House of Assembly recently, Walwyn said that while the territory has many competent people capable of interpreting and shaping laws, most are unlikely to leave high-paying private-sector jobs for the current level of pay in politics.

“You have to be able to attract people of a certain quality when you have certain persons in the private sector. And that’s one of the problems we have,” Walwyn stated. “It ain’t that we don’t have competent people here or good people here who could do this job and do it well, particularly in the direction it’s going. You have to pay them to get here.”

“You could go tell somebody who working in one of them trust company’s or law firm — making $200,000 a year — to come in here for $36,000? In which world is that going to happen? It will not happen. And that is part of the challenge that we have,” Walwyn said.

He later clarified with BVI News that the salary structure for legislators in the BVI do not attract the most capable minds from the private sector.

Walwyn made the comments against the backdrop of his advocacy for the introduction of a bicameral system that would see the BVI’s legislature comprise an upper and lower house.

He said a second chamber, such as a Senate, could help ensure laws are properly reviewed before being passed, adding that the lower house would still have the final say.

“At the end of the day, of course, the lower house will have the say, because we are the ones elected by the people,” Walwyn said. “But certainly, you have something to consider so you can make a better piece of law. And we need that.”

Walwyn also acknowledged that introducing a bicameral legislature would have financial implications but said the added cost should not be viewed negatively.

“Anything in life could be negotiated,” he said. “It ain’t no whole heap of money. But it is needed.”

His comments come amid public outrage over the massive salary increases recently granted to elected officials. An Auditor General’s report revealed that lawmakers quietly approved pay hikes of more than 100 percent late last year, raising the overall cost from about $681,000 to nearly $1.5 million.

The Premier’s salary rose from $72,000 to more than $176,000.

Many residents have criticised the process as secretive, saying the pay raises were not debated publicly. Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has defended the increases, saying ministers were previously underpaid compared to senior public officers and that the adjustments were based on independent recommendations.

Walwyn recently said he understands why the public is upset over the increases, noting that even if the process followed Westminster norms, the perception of secrecy damaged public trust.

At the same time, the Opposition Leader urged the territory to confront the issue of competitive compensation in politics, saying capable professionals are in the territory but will not enter public service if they aren’t offered decent salaries.