House of Assembly to meet November 13, 2017
The meeting, which is expected to get underway at 10:00 AM, will be held in the Arbitration Centre in Ritter House on Wickham’s Cay II, Tortola.
The HoA last met on October 5, 2017 at the Save the Seed Energy Centre in Duff's Bottom on the main island of Tortola. At that meeting there was little or no business done for the people as it was only to rush through a curfew law to restrict the rights and freedom of citizens.
Meanwhile, the draft Order Paper for the upcoming sitting has not been obtained by our newsroom, as it seems to be still going back and forth between the Speaker of the House and the Premier, therefore it was not ready for publication.
Bills for the people
In addition, Members have not received their official Order Paper, according to one Member as of our publication time.
It remains unclear whether the long-awaited Consumer Protection Bill will be on the agenda.
Following Hurricane Irma, which destroyed the Virgin Islands, some businesses have engaged in price gouging and the National Democratic Party (NDP) has for the most part ignored the issues, beside some political rhetoric of telling businesses they should stop engaging in that practice.
Junior Minister for Trade and Investment Promotion, Honourable Marlon A. Penn (R8) promised again the Consumer Protection Bill is being worked on and that it is coming.
Also, pending for some ten years is the Freedom of Information Bill, a piece of legislation the public, regional and international organisations, civil society, the media and even former Governor John S. Duncan OBE have been calling for to ensure the public has access to decisions made by the NDP Administration, and have access to government documents.
Since the 2011 general elections that saw the NDP come to power, the public has been increasingly dissatisfied with the secrecy surrounding government policy, especially in the areas of spending.
Public officers, Ministers of Governments and Non-Governmental Organisations and others have been leaking government information to the press, risking their own jobs about corruption, conflict of interest and financial mismanagement.
The public awaits to see if these two pieces of legislation will make the agenda of the November 13, 2017 meeting.
It is also unclear if there will be live coverage of the event at Ritter House.
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11 Responses to “House of Assembly to meet November 13, 2017”
I guess daughter cant get pick up any more on tax payers dime