Coincidence or not? UK newspapers @ it again!
Biased CoI
The CoI has already been criticised by persons in the territory of being biased to favour the UK, unfair to witnesses who were hardly given time to prepare themselves as well as the opportunity for government lawyers to cross-examine the facts and some witnesses, and has an agenda to frustrate the VI’s efforts for self-determination.
Before the CoI was properly announced in the Virgin Islands on Martin Luther King Day on January 18, 2021, newspapers in the United Kingdom had already published detailed stories about the CoI and maliciously and inaccurately labelled the Virgin Islands as corrupt and having a climate of fear and victimisation. Those stories were also one-sided, without the VI government and people being able to comment on the allegations as put forward by controversial ex-governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert, who was at loggerheads with the democratically elected Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government, who was resisting Jaspert’s attempts at violating the constitution and acting outside of his role as governor.
Did the limelight get to Jaspert?
The CoI revealed that Jaspert felt he was acting within the constitution and didn’t seem to care about the concerns of the elected government or that they were taking legitimate offence to his style and actions.
One of the issues that Mr Jaspert fought the VI government for was to maintain responsibility of the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) since he claimed it also involved the security of the territory, which is the responsibility of the Governor.
When the destructive Hurricane Irma struck in September 2017, the first thing Jaspert did as Governor was to call a state of emergency, making the elected government useless.
The UK press had then hailed Mr Jaspert as a hero.
Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) told the CoI, Mr Jaspert was disrespectful towards him and had wrongfully accused him of doing things he did not do. Additionally, Governor Jaspert kept putting off swearing-in him as Premier and he and his elected members and team had to demand the Governor to swear in the Premier.
Premier Fahie described the relations with Mr Jaspert as abusive.
Damaging headline
Meanwhile, the headline of The Guardian’s story was ‘BVI inquiry hears claims of systemic corruption and jury intimidation’ and the subheading was ‘Allegations aired against senior figures include selective granting of citizenship and drug running’.
One paragraph of the article reads: ‘More than 50 lengthy public hearings, and voluminous written evidence, have revealed a dark underside to the BVI, one of the biggest tax havens in the world, as well as exposing a deep well of resentment among some of the Caribbean island’s politicians at the controls placed on them by London’.
The Virgin Islands has refused to accept a loan guarantee from the UK for hurricane recovery and development without the UK adjusting the borrowing ceiling in the Protocols for Effective Financial Management (PEFM), a document allegedly forced on the VI by the UK.
Many see the UK as attempting to subtly take control of the Virgin Islands finances, even though it does not contribute financially to the VI, and to ultimately take control of the territory so it has a window of opportunity to implement its policies under its Global Britain agenda.
Additionally, through the Recovery and Development Agency, another entity forced on the VI by the UK, the UK wanted all monies for recovery and development to go through the RDA, which would again give the UK control of that aspect of the territory’s finances.
This was seen as a backward step for a country with ambitions of self-determination.
Was Jaspert only being vindictive?
Jaspert, who repeatedly told the CoI that the VI government was being hostile towards him, had said he called for the commission of inquiry as a last resort “due to cumulative concerns about good governance” and other allegations.
The announcement of the CoI had come as a surprise, especially to the near 2-year-old Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government, since there were calls for Commissions of Inquiry into individual projects, such as the Tortola Pier Park Project and Elmore Stoutt High School Wall Project even before the VIP came into power; however, the Governor had refused to launch a commission as he said he was awaiting the outcome of investigations into them.
However, under the VIP Government of Premier Andrew A. Fahie (R1), Jaspert saw it convenient to hastily launch a wholesale CoI into governance based on mere allegations and without any real evidence or investigations into them, causing severe damage to the reputation of the territory.
Police Commissioner throws VI under the bus
The Guardian also noted that the commission had received written evidence about claims of police inefficiency from Police Commissioner Mark Collins, a UK national.
According to the report by Collins, there was “a total deficit of trust and confidence as to Royal Virgin Islands Police Force professionalism, integrity and ability to act on information offered, instead of divulging amongst colleagues and friends”.
It should be known that Mr Collins and the two police commissioners before him were from the United Kingdom and that the RVIPF falls under the responsibility of the Governor.
For years under the Commissioners from the UK, the RVIPF has been faced with low morale and local and Caribbean police officers have claimed they receive a different treatment that is tantamount to discrimination when compared to their colleagues who are nationals of the UK.
The local and Caribbean police officers have also claimed they are bypassed when it comes to openings for vacancies in favour of UK nationals, who are paid huge salaries while the local and Caribbean officers do most of the work.
There has also been corruption in the RVIPF under the responsibility of the Commissioners from the UK and ultimately the Governor; however, a CoI was never launched and the CoI commissioned by the UK was not interested in looking into corruption in the RVIPF or even why prisoners had all escaped following Hurricane Irma.
Her Majesty’s Prison, a gift to the Virgin Islands by the UK, is ultimately the responsibility of the Governor’s Office.
Also highlighted by the UK newspaper was Collins claiming that vacancies exist for a fifth of the police force, owing to lack of funding and that there was a level of under-resource that would make any UK police force ineffective.
This came as a surprise as commissioners before had never expressed such troubling concerns about funding.
Although the UK is responsible for security in the territory, the VI is responsible for the funding.
And instead of accepting some of the blame for the failure of the RVIPF to solve more crimes in such a small territory, Mr Collins instead questioned the independence of the courts, saying VI citizens protected one another.
“This creates a big issue when all parties are known to each other, and historically justice will not be bestowed on a fellow belonger, instilling a feeling of omnipotence for the few.”
No evidence of corruption found
The Guardian failed to report; however, that the CoI has failed to unearth any corruption in the Virgin Islands.
Even where elected members were found to have been in breach of the Register of Interests Act, it still does not indicate corruption.
Even when the government gave out grants to help its people when the UK refused to help financially during the pandemic, there was no evidence that the government was in any way receiving kickbacks.
The CoI took some of its evidence from incomplete reports from the Auditor General Sonia M. Webster, who also told the CoI, that she did not allow Government more time requested to furnish her information because she did not trust the civil servants entrusted with submitting the data to her.
It can also be perceived from the CoI that Ms Webster appeared to hastily prepare her reports specifically for the CoI, reports which should have first passed through the HoA, according to law.
The CoI has shown; however, that there are policies that need to be strengthened or put in place to ensure better accountability in a territory that was condemned as a bird sanctuary by the UK but, without the help of its colonisers, became one of the jewels and envy of the Caribbean and possibly even the UK, according to many commentators.
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29 Responses to “Coincidence or not? UK newspapers @ it again!”
respectfully submitted
And the arrival of the Royal Marines was a most welcome sight after the destruction Irma brought to these Islands. They were needed. It WAS a State of Emergency!!
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No Caribbean person should cheer for this which is essentially the slave monger and English condescension fighting to stay relevant in a progressive era.
I think its all planned out with all the actors reading their lines. Playbook titled Regaining Global Domination.
I.T guys on stand by. Propaganda writers on stand by. Uk ships & Air Force on stand by. People their paying in secret to back stab on standby.
I’m not exposing a thing this movie script is worn out and the reviews are negative.
It belongs to a time when they met communicated and conspired to keep persons in slavery for generations. What’s new?
No way UK papers put these out with such timing. When the UK ship was on
But the accusation that some of our elected black people has also taken our tax money, our BVI money, and slip it in their pocket or slide some to a friend for mutual benefit - that’s also true.
You’re using the colonial/slave framework to hide the detail of real life today - that many of our public servants use government for the advancement of themselves, family and friends.
One true argument does not negate another true argument and I for one am glad someone is closely examining what these politicians have been doing with my $$.
The leaders of this country are ignorant, idiotic and self preserving fools. There is absolutely NOTHING they are doing for the betterment of the people or the country, in fact they are keeping it stagnant and never progressing.
The only thing more idiotic than those leading our country are the persons who put them in year after year expecting change from persons who lack the basic skill set to properly govern. I mean just listening to the Premier speak is extremely embarrassing. Shouldn’t someone intelligent represent ones country? There surely haven’t been any of those in Government for decades.
This island has been behind the rest of the world and will continue to be unless persons who actually have experience building and growing a country can run this rock.