“Our ministerial team is ready to serve the people of the Virgin Islands… An orientation session for members of Cabinet was conducted to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of what is required and what is expected of them,” Dr Wheatley stated during a recent press briefing.

The Premier’s disclosure suggests that there has been a departure from the practice of previous governing administrations. Previously, lawmakers indicated that there was little done to properly train new legislators about their roles and responsibilities.

This was brought out over the duration of the Commission of Inquiry (COI), and particularly during hearings which dealt with the Register of Interests (ROI) Act, where it was revealed that most elected officials had not declared their assets as required by law.

The Register of Interest Act, in essence, is a record kept of the financial interests of legislators. Its purpose is to give them the mechanism to publicly declare any private interests which may conflict or may be perceived to conflict with their public duties.

Many lawmakers stated that they were unaware of the requirement to disclose their assets. Some admitted to ignoring reminders by the Registrar of Interests about the need for compliance with the law, several months and even years in some instances, after they had been sworn into office.

In the meantime, Premier Wheatley reported that Permanent Secretaries were in the process of being briefed on their assignments in their respective ministries and also on ongoing initiatives which are taking place within the ministries.

According to the Premier: “They will soon initiate the process of converting the Virgin Islands Party manifesto which has been mapped to the National Sustainable Development Plan.”