Has the civil service been paralysed after arrests & CoI report?
During the CoI, the maladministration and corruption under the Governor’s portfolio such as the police force, the civil service and the courts were brushed aside and only the areas run by local government were the focus.
That is why many progressive Virgin Islanders are now questioning the legitimacy of the report and what was the main motive and objective.
Instilled fear in public officers?
Since the release of the CoI report and the many recommendations, both ordinary residents and some elected officials have stated that the public sector has shut down and now, persons are too afraid to act on anything.
They spoke of nothing being done in the Virgin Islands because public officers are reportedly in a state of confusion and fear as well as being terrified because of the arrests and charge of two of their colleagues.
The two are Najah Christopher an Assistant Secretary for External Affairs, and Lorna Stevens another Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Education who both were arrested and charged with ‘Breach of Trust’.
Politicians are also reportedly concerned and uneasy because for the first time, a former Legislator who also served as Education and Culture Minister, Mr Myron V. Walwyn has been charged and arrested.
Mr Walwyn was associated with the over $1.6 M Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) wall, and many in the private sector who have worked on Government projects, are also reportedly watching over their shoulders with the arrest of a private resident Kelvin Thomas over the same wall.
There is now a perception that nothing is happening in government, given that public officers and even some individuals in statutory bodies are fearful. This has reportedly brought the country to a standstill and caused the economy in some areas to contract which has frustrated some elected officials according to sources.
People are suffering
The result of this, is the country has reportedly started to spiral into poverty, residents are in hardship where the only focus is on the spending of close to $1M to implement the CoI recommendations signed off on by Premier Dr. the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7).
There was no consultation with the people before the CoI recommendations were signed off and many still see the CoI report simply as a means to transfer power from those we elect in free and fair elections, to civil servants and the Governor.
According to an outspoken former Legislator Alred C. Frett “this trend has been inbred in Slave Descendants - even those with the privilege of serving the Public - As a result, the People are being shortchanged… Once upon a time, we looked to Politicians for rescue but now both our Politicians and Civil Servants appear to be under the UK’s control and it has been a standing practice for Senior Civil Servants to bamboozle Politicians they regard as weak, old or foolish.”
Politicians have become useless?
Mr Frett writing in his column noted “this is tragic, since, Politicians were elected by the People to work in their best interest and, the less these Ministers are able to manage their Ministries, the more useless they become”.
He continued, “meanwhile, Civil Servants are deemed to operate under the 21st Century Colonialist directives of UK’s Government… Under such conditions, the best-intended talks of Elections and Constitutions bring nothing for the People,” the businessman opined.
It is unclear how long the country will remain in a state of confusion, fear, and uncertainty.
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27 Responses to “Has the civil service been paralysed after arrests & CoI report?”
“ Politicians have become useless?”.
In BVi they have been useless since decades. That what happens on all tiny countries with tiny populations. It’s inevitable.
That’s garbage.
You don't see Mr Rankin was send here on a mission by the UK ví islanders wake up before it's too late the police forcé is the most corrupt and it is under the watch of Rankin and noting is been done that don't tell You something we need to get rid of Rankin Collins Pam and the @*&^% UK now before more damage is done
Many of our citizens have not reconised it, by many of us do, that your have a measure of rasist attitude in you, against white rule, but your have not forcefully written against black rule misconducts, but you subtlely try to hide your rasist attitude.
Not that some of what you have written in the past are not true, but some of what you have wrote in this article meant to deceive us, and some are deliberate lies been written against the CoI probed, and conclusive mismanagement of our finances been unveiled to us by the CoI.
Some may choose to vote dislike, and ma do so, only because either don't understand or they are against proven evidence found, in my honest opinion.
How on earth could a Commission of Inquiry be done and leave out all the areas of real corruption ie the police, some areas of the civil service and the issues with the courts? Who kill Frandy Marin? Who kill the guy from JAMDOWN who use to work at the governor’s resident?
Why did the coi report only focused on Myron, Fraser, Claude, Vincent, Dr. Smith and Andrew? Cant you see that is nonsense and bias? Stop blaming the victims of slavery and blogging hate on VINO please STOP IT, let’s work together for a better BVI
Civil Servants are now paralyzed dejected and have lost all hope. What little used to happen has completely ground to a halt. No leadership vision or direction has emerged in all of the chaos…and none will for the foreseeable future. As the Government fights with the Governor and UK and they fight with the Government and we all lose.
The cosmetic “fixes” here and there focusing on a “COI Agenda” are not bringing any fundamental change. What we have is a complete stall and regression here in the BVI while the Government and UK play a game of chicken. Our Government is and has been a dismal failure in all of this.