Public consultations for UK/VI relationship for “coming weeks”- Premier
Dr. Smith made the announcement at a press briefing today November 29, 2011 at the Office of the Premier’s Conference Room on his recent trip to the United Kingdom for the Overseas Territories Consultative Council meeting.
“I am happy that I was able to successfully negotiate for more time to assess the Territory’s financial condition and to put forward an effective strategy to restore previous fiscal balance and responsibility. I am pleased that Mr. (Henry) Bellingham was receptive to our concerns and expressed how much his Government desired for constructive engagement with these Virgin Islands.”
According to the Premier the delegation did not sign nor were there any attempts made to have the document signed to commit the Territory to the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility, in which one of the guidelines in it is for the Territory to send its budget to the United Kingdom two months prior to approval.
“Ladies and gentlemen this is the United Kingdom Government’s way of calling on the Government of the Virgin Islands to commit to being more fiscally responsible. Ladies and gentlemen we did not sign the document nor did the United Kingdom Government attempt to force us to sign it.”
“I thought it was important to remind Mr. Bellingham that this is my second time as leader of the BVI but more importantly that after 37 years of managing our own fiscal affairs we were not prepared to now have them managed for us,” Dr. Smith added.
He also said the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility, which is an evolution of the borrowing guidelines, was clearly proposed by the United Kingdom based on the performance of the previous administration. “We made it clear that we were not prepared to just pick up from where the previous administration left off but rather to decide on the best way forward to economic viability.”
Question on what were the UK Government’s comments on the previous administration’s handling of the Territory’s finances, Dr. Smith replied that Mr. Bellingham did say that the Territory “was not in the best fiscal position” but there were no further discussion on how the Government managed the country.
The Premier noted that representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) are expected to visit in January “to discuss the various options in moving forward quickly”.
Consultations for "white paper" inputDr. Smith further stated that United Kingdom’s plans to publish the new White Paper on future relations with the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories were also discussed and that he again indicated that the BVI would require more time to carry out consultations with the public and public service on the UK/BVI relationship for input in the forthcoming White Paper.
“In the coming weeks, therefore, we would be consulting with the public on the BVI/UK relationship to feed into the White Paper. We would also be consulting with the Ministries, Departments, and Statutory bodies of Government. Please speak frankly about the direction that you would like to see our relationship with the United Kingdom go as we seek to further define our relationship with the UK Government."
According to the Wikipedia Encyclopaedia, A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In the Commonwealth of Nations, "white paper" is an informal name for a parliamentary paper enunciating government policy; in the United Kingdom these are mostly issued as “command papers”.
White papers are issued by the government and lay out policy, or proposed action, on a topic of current concern. Although a white paper may on occasion be a consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law.
Honourable Smith’s delegation to the UK included Financial Secretary Neil Smith; Assistant Secretary for External Affairs in the Premier’s Office Najan Christopher; elected representative for the eighth district Marlon Penn; advisor Lorna Smith, OBE, and from the BVI London Office, Director Kedrick Malone and Political Analyst Benito Wheatley.
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