BVI constitution should be decolonised — Troy Christopher
Former President of the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association (BVICCHA), Troy Christopher, said there is a need for the territory’s constitution to be decolonised.
“We should have, at minimum, started to decolonise the constitution and make sure those practices that everyone has said is outdated — those things should be removed from the constitution,” Christopher said on the Umoja radio show recently.
Christopher described the unnamed practices as being blatant and argued, among other things, that the constitution expresses that the territory is interested in following democratic principles.
He also questioned whether the institution of the monarchy was conducive to achieving these principles based on its structure and said residents at some point need to take into consideration the reality of their relationship with the monarchy and determine that their situation is undemocratic.
”If you want the public to help you to understand and you want to explain to the public what is taking place, they have to truly understand what it is we are dealing with,” Christopher argued.
With the BVI remaining in a colonial structure, Christopher questioned whether residents have really and fully discussed the issue of the territory’s independence, among other things.
“To me, we haven’t really engaged in the options that are open to us in an educational format, so that when the constitution review comes… we’ve fleshed out all the areas already,” Christopher said. “Whether we can express [what we want] in a document and have it worded in a way that is called a constitution is something else.”
Christopher’s comments were made in the context of the territory’s constitutional review discussions with residents. The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) has been holding public consultations and one-on-one meetings since October 2022.
Christopher described the unnamed practices as being blatant and argued, among other things, that the constitution expresses that the territory is interested in following democratic principles.
He also questioned whether the institution of the monarchy was conducive to achieving these principles based on its structure and said residents at some point need to take into consideration the reality of their relationship with the monarchy and determine that their situation is undemocratic.
”If you want the public to help you to understand and you want to explain to the public what is taking place, they have to truly understand what it is we are dealing with,” Christopher argued.
With the BVI remaining in a colonial structure, Christopher questioned whether residents have really and fully discussed the issue of the territory’s independence, among other things.
“To me, we haven’t really engaged in the options that are open to us in an educational format, so that when the constitution review comes… we’ve fleshed out all the areas already,” Christopher said. “Whether we can express [what we want] in a document and have it worded in a way that is called a constitution is something else.”
Christopher’s comments were made in the context of the territory’s constitutional review discussions with residents. The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) has been holding public consultations and one-on-one meetings since October 2022.
