CoI: UK unable to let go of colonial legacy as ‘rule setters’ - Daniel F. Davies
Mr Davies, a Virgin Islander, appearing on the May 4, 2021, edition of the ‘Honestly Speaking’ radio show on ZBVI 780 AM, told show moderator Claude O. Skelton-Cline that if a CoI now is not the right time in the UK it cannot be right to execute one on the Virgin Islands that is facing the same pandemic.
‘I reject the way CoI is being conducted’ – Davies
“As a Virgin Islander, I also reject the way in which this Commission of Inquiry is being conducted, it should be a public inquiry. If this is a democratic institution, which it should be in line with our constitution, how is it the public does not generally know what is going on?” he questioned.
He said currently, the CoI appears to only be releasing information at the will of the commissioner.
"By allowing the commissioner to publicise certain things, it is allowing the United Kingdom to dictate the narrative,” he went on to say.
Further, Davies illustrated that the UK CoI is headquartered at 22 Whitehall, London in the UK; meaning, that the UK Government is in their house trying to sort out VI’s businesses from outside the territory.
UK unable to let go of colonial past – Davies
“One of the reasons why the United Kingdom has gone through the BREXIT process is because they are tired of being rule-takers… they want to be rule setters,” he said.
According to Mr Davies, the UK has no right to be setting rules, especially when they seem unable to run their own house in terms of their affairs in the UK.
“It's as if they are still very interested in their colonial past, it seems to be they want to a rule setter as a part of the colonial legacy that they are unable to let go of, despite the sun setting on the British Empire long ago,” Davies said.
The CoI was announced by controversial ex-governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert, who was accused of trying to bully the democratically elected government headed by Premier Andrew A. Fahie (R1) and causing a strain in the relationship between government and the electorate. Mr Jaspert was also accused of trying to bully the legislature when he reportedly attempted to dictate to the Speaker to call a sitting of the House of Assembly (HoA).
29 Responses to “CoI: UK unable to let go of colonial legacy as ‘rule setters’ - Daniel F. Davies”
Mr Fligelstone Davies and his business partner aren't constitutional lawyers but it seems they want to gain publicity for their law firm by making these statements on the COI
Nothing is wrong with investigating the government, because most countries have some sort of corruption i it.
If we are not guilty then we should not worry ourselves. Just let the COI do their work.