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'Stop the culture of secrecy in Gov't' – Doug Wheatley

-said there continues to be a culture of secrecy surrounding documents. Seminars for civil servants hosted by Governor or Deputy Governor's Office will clarify which documents can be released to the public
Radio talk show host Douglas Wheatley said there continues to be a culture of secrecy in the territory and proposed that the Governor or Deputy Governor hold seminars for civil servants to get them to be clear as to which documents can be shared and which cannot. Photo: VINO/File
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Radio talk show host Douglas Wheatley said there continues to be a culture of secrecy in the territory and proposed that the Governor or Deputy Governor hold seminars for civil servants to get them to be clear as to which documents can be shared and which cannot.

He was speaking on his weekly talk show Speak Out BVI heard on ZBVI 780 AM last evening April 28, 2015.

“General we have a culture of secrecy with regard to any information coming out of Government and we have to try to break that culture of secrecy,” he said.

“I have heard people from the press talk about the difficulty in accessing information which is really public information. And one of the reasons is that some officers want to really CYA (cover your a**). They are afraid that they might get into trouble if they make documents available so they err on the side of secrecy,” he said.

Wheatley proposed that the Governor or Deputy Governor’s Office hold seminars for civil servants on what documents they can release easily and which documents are not for release. This he said will make it easier for people who are doing research and who may need information for any number of purposes.

He noted that there are documents that are classified and that are private, confidential and not available for all and sundry. He said too that there are some documents which are embargoed such as budget speeches which is only released at a certain time.

“By the same token, there are documents in the House of Assembly that do not become public documents until they are laid on the table of the House, but once they have been laid they become public documents available to all and sundry,” he said.

“I think we have to try to understand which documents we have to protect with our lives and which documents are available and open to the public,” he said.

Government is yet to pass the much needed Freedom of Information (FoI) Act which would give the public the right to have certain information not made public initially.

7 Responses to “'Stop the culture of secrecy in Gov't' – Doug Wheatley ”

  • civil servants (29/04/2015, 09:07) Like (4) Dislike (1) Reply
    dem afraid of the wicked NDP too much vitimization
  • Kevin Belcher (29/04/2015, 09:12) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    Its in the DNA og Government and the wider Virgin Islands Doug. Ever wondered why?
  • ... (29/04/2015, 10:12) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    NDP GOT A LOT TO HIDE DEM CROUPT
  • NDP heckler (29/04/2015, 10:58) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    Where ever there is secrecy there is always wrong doings.
  • bat cave (29/04/2015, 11:40) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    This results so many leaks ..just give us the infor and it will be all right
  • xxxxxxxx (29/04/2015, 17:19) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    This is what happens when government really DOESN'T have tangible ideas to boost national productivity.


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