BVI has tools to be self-sufficient, says int’l governance expert
The BVI has all of the tools it needs to become sufficient in self-governance, an international expert in governance, Dr Carlyle Corbin, has argued.
“I think the assessment actually does conclude that that is in fact the case,“ the governance expert said on the Honestly Speaking radio show previously.
Dr Corbin, who was commissioned by the government to conduct an independent self-governance assessment of the BVI, said the only thing currently lacking in the BVI‘s quest in self-determination or self-governance is an actual transfer of power.
The situation that currently obtains in the BVI, according to Dr Corbin, is a delegation of power which he argued is a completely reversible circumstance as opposed to the devolution of power.
Based on his assessment, Dr Corbin said: “All of the things that I am referring to in terms of the evolution of the territory – and the British have assisted in this respect – but also the government itself and successive governments have made a concerted effort to invest in the people.”
According to Dr Corbin, the BVI has a very high standard of education, highly technical skills throughout the society and economy and major sectors of the economy are by and large in the hands of the population.
He further argued that the territory possesses an institution such as the H Lavity Stoutt Community College which he said has linked its curriculum to the maze of the economy.
“You have a financial sector curriculum, you have a curriculum in tourism, you have various other areas specific to training people to enter the workforce in that area,“ Dr Corbin explained.
The government recently released a summary of the findings of Dr Corbin’s assessment on self-governance, arguing that the BVI’s current status cannot be deemed acceptable or permanent.
“The overall conclusion of the assessment is that the current overseas territory status remains preparatory to the [Full Measure of Self-Government] FMSG according to international law,” the government’s statement noted.
It continued: “The current status of the Virgin Islands cannot be regarded as a permanent and acceptable status of democratic governance in perpetuity as long as political inequality and unilateral authority remains its overarching feature – regardless of how modernised the dependency arrangement may be projected to be.”
Dr Corbin, who was commissioned by the government to conduct an independent self-governance assessment of the BVI, said the only thing currently lacking in the BVI‘s quest in self-determination or self-governance is an actual transfer of power.
The situation that currently obtains in the BVI, according to Dr Corbin, is a delegation of power which he argued is a completely reversible circumstance as opposed to the devolution of power.
Based on his assessment, Dr Corbin said: “All of the things that I am referring to in terms of the evolution of the territory – and the British have assisted in this respect – but also the government itself and successive governments have made a concerted effort to invest in the people.”
According to Dr Corbin, the BVI has a very high standard of education, highly technical skills throughout the society and economy and major sectors of the economy are by and large in the hands of the population.
He further argued that the territory possesses an institution such as the H Lavity Stoutt Community College which he said has linked its curriculum to the maze of the economy.
“You have a financial sector curriculum, you have a curriculum in tourism, you have various other areas specific to training people to enter the workforce in that area,“ Dr Corbin explained.
The government recently released a summary of the findings of Dr Corbin’s assessment on self-governance, arguing that the BVI’s current status cannot be deemed acceptable or permanent.
“The overall conclusion of the assessment is that the current overseas territory status remains preparatory to the [Full Measure of Self-Government] FMSG according to international law,” the government’s statement noted.
It continued: “The current status of the Virgin Islands cannot be regarded as a permanent and acceptable status of democratic governance in perpetuity as long as political inequality and unilateral authority remains its overarching feature – regardless of how modernised the dependency arrangement may be projected to be.”
