Governor Duncan should be whistle-blower for the people – E.G. Maduro
Speaking to reporters at Governor’s Residence on August 19, 2016, Governor Duncan said a Whistle-blower Act in the territory could be crucial “to establishing the checks and balances that the territory needs.”
This is the same Governor, according to Mr Maduro, that refused to establish a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Ports Development Project despite some five reports, one from a former Auditor General, the House Of Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, former Ports Developer Hugh E. Darley and representation made from the former BVI Ports Authority Chairman on alleged corruption in the over $100M project.
“He is making himself look like a person with no integrity,” said Mr Maduro during an exclusive interview with this news site.
With no Freedom of Information Act and the National Democratic Party (NDP) Government refusing to disclose information on various projects and policies to the media and public, even in the House of Assembly, reporters are forced to rely on Whistle-blowers, who often speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
The NDP government, whom Governor Duncan met in power, has a history of being hostile to press freedom and has passed a censorship Bill called the Cyber Act to put journalists in jail for reporting on some items, a Bill that has been condemned by the International Community. Governor Duncan was in Cabinet when the Bill was passed.
Added to that, Governor Duncan himself wants the press to be censored. At the same press conference on August 19, 2016 he told the local media that he is having discussions with Leader of Government Business Premier and Minister of Information Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith and the United Kingdom officials about “instituting measures that would help check and balance the press”.
“And then he (Governor Duncan) talking about whistle-blowers, he is embarrassing his own self when he talks about whistle-blowers because he supposed to be the whistle-blower and whatever information he wants, once he thinks something is being done wrong all he has to do is ask for it, examine it and blow the whistle to the people,” said Mr Maduro.
‘I would fire him’
Governor Duncan has defended his decision to not call a CoI because he believed the allegations of corruption were mere rumours.
“Rumour is one thing, evidence is another. You cannot conduct business on the basis of no evidence. People can make all sorts of allegations but no evidence was found after four separate investigations,” Governor Duncan had stated.
However, Mr Maduro shares a different view.
“If I was the queen I would fire him. The people are the power. When you say that the queen has the executive authority, things are in the hands of the queen, it is there just like you running a business, he is the executive director and if something is going wrong he definitely would correct it so I really don’t understand what stupidity the Governor does be coming with,” Maduro concluded.
The talk show host Maduro has in the past called for Governor Duncan to be recalled by the United Kingdom.
9 Responses to “Governor Duncan should be whistle-blower for the people – E.G. Maduro”
It is OUR job (the people) to be whistle blowers!
Power to The People.