Bring Bills to the public for input- Julian Willock
The former Director of the Water and Sewerage Department was at the time speaking on the International Morning Ride Show on ZROD 103.7 FM with host Paul A. Peart aka 'Gadiethz' on Thursday May 18, 2017.
Mr Willock said "many of the Bills being passed in the HoA affect our rights, our businesses and our way of life; therefore, it’s important that they not be rushed or fast tracked without the public's input."
When asked by the host 'Gadiethz' if he was able to listen to the last HoA on May 11, 2017, Mr Willock said he heard some of it, but two Bills got his attention.
They were the 'Development Bank of the Virgin Islands (Transfer of Assets and Liabilities ) Act 2017' and the 'Secure Search (Beneficial Ownership) System Act, 2017'.
Mr Willock, the young Virgin Islander who was the only voice last year defending the Virgin Islands (VI) Offshore Financial Sector from vicious public attacks from the International Community following the Panama Papers, said "there are even members in the HoA who do not even know what is in many of the Bills they are passing, therefore, they cannot explain them to the people."
Willock explains National Bank Bill
He said that in a nutshell the Development Bank Bill passed last week "will enable statutory bodies and other companies incorporated locally to invest in the government-owned bank, giving up the Government being the only share holder".
Willock, who seems to have a keen ability to explain complex issues, said "because of the current administration, according to financial reports, leaving the Treasury dry, they are no longer in a position to give the bank the level of capital it needs, hence the need for this Bill," he said.
What is the Beneficial Ownership Bill about? Willock tells
Mr Willock also explained the Secure Search Bill by saying, "at the heart of the new Bill is that it provides VI law enforcement authorities with direct and immediate access to verified beneficial ownership information on any VI company."
While Mr Willock said he has mixed feelings about the Bill, as it was forced on us by "others", the new Secure Search (Beneficial Owner System Act 2017) "clearly demonstrates our commitment to cooperating with international law enforcement agencies to help identify and tackle instances where our structures are being used inappropriately."
While he continues to be bombarded with questions of whether he is running for political office, Mr Willock has emerged as a leading voice on the International stage defending the VI’s legitimate Offshore Financial Services Sector.
Willock is a defender of the Offshore Financial Sector
Last year he had an interview with the BBC when local political leaders were silent while the world was labelling the VI as a 'tax haven' and in January of this year he had another interview with the United States National Public Radio in the New York Area.
Mr Willock is also scheduled to do another BBC interview on other issues in the VI, along with an interview with CNN International.
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47 Responses to “Bring Bills to the public for input- Julian Willock”
Moreover, the VI is a representative democracy, represnsatives are elected to represent a group of people, not a direct democracy. Direct democracy is impractical. Imagine 30,000 souls getting together to a create a bill. Chaos. However, represensative democracy does mean that representatives can act on their own without seeking input from the people. But the populace silence can be viewed as permission to act without seeking input from the people. Thus if people want input, they must get engaged and demand it. Nevertheless, seeking input does not mean that representatives have to vote for the position(s) advocated by the people; they must be empowered to exercise sound judgement. If the people disagree with the voting choice or pattern of representaives, they can exercise their frustration at the polls.
Before being sworn in to office, elected officials should have to declare assets and declare them every year thereafter. Not too unreasonable is it? Are local politicians following and meeting the spirit and intent of the law at home?
This is confidential information! The reason why there is. Secure Search System established by our government.
Now, this bank has made it a mandatory requirement to provide them with this information.
Where is our government to put a stop to this ransom request.
How accesible and how widely read is the Gazette? The Gazette is an anachronism of past centuries; it is now the 21st Century and government needs to modernize and come of age. Residents should be able to read bills on smart phones, tablets........etc. Agree with E. Leonard that except for emergencies bills should not be rushed through the HOA on 1 reading; there needs to be at least 2 readings. Moreover, there should public comments on bills. No bill should be voted on until there was an opportunity for public comments. It does not matter if no one comments, the time should be made available. This is transparency. The last time I check the VI was a democracy, not an autocratic/dictatorship. And it should live by democratic principles. The VI needs to exit from the trending autocratic slope it is on. Furthermore, residents need to stop just yapping and get engaged with action. If residents do not get engaged, nothing will change. The outcome will be the same. If we want things to change, we must get engaged. Change is not going to come easy: it will require sacrifice. National Hero Noel Lloyd and PAM successful agitatIon did not come without sacrifice. Dolph Faulkner agitatitation for change did not come without sacrifice. Leaders of the 1949 "March" sacrificed to effect change. Let's get up off our a..es and agitate for needed change.
On the Bank...why do you need a public meeting for the Govt to pass a bill about the bank repositioning to raise money. Cmon man.. let the people govern. And to Willock where will any govt get money from to keep raising the banks capital.. Everyone want the government to do pay for everything, fund everything, and inject money into everything.. where is the money coming from and everytime the govt tries some new revenue measure everybody balling.while you at it ehy dont you tell us how much the VIP government put in.