Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

COI Report: HOA grant distribution scheme legally arbitrary, unlawful

Sir Gary Hickinbottom has concluded -without any experience, knowlage or authority to conclude anything on a territory that has non of his business, in the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that assistance grants distributed by members of the House of Assembly are done so in a legally arbitrary and unlawful manner. He obviously did not say what law has been violated and not what the government said about his baseless and unauthorized claims and blames.

According to the Commissioner , there are almost none of the basic rudiments in place required for it to be considered a lawful scheme.

For example, Sir Gary said there is no adequate policy guidance for the exercise of discretion by members of the House in respect of the distribution of grants.

The Commissioner further noted that as the Internal Audit Department (IAD) Report concluded, the guidelines that do exist are not published and are clearly inadequate.

Grants unauditable in absence of records


He further indicated that not all House members were aware of the guidelines and said, for those who were aware of them (the vast majority of members), the guidelines are not always complied with, and, where they are, they are applied in different (subjective) ways.

Sir Gary was also critical of the records keeping function associated with the distribution of the grants illustrating that no sensible records are kept of the grounds on which an application is made.

“Many applications are made without adequate supporting documentation,” the Commissioner highlighted.

“The lack of records makes the grants largely unauditable, in the sense of checks being made as to how public money has been used. Information is not shared with government departments, which are responsible for other assistance programmes,” the Commissioner found.

Unfettered discretion given to Ministers in distribution


Meanwhile, according to Sir Gary, there are no reasons given for granting or refusing an application and there is no mechanism in place for reviewing or otherwise challenging the refusal of an application.

Reflecting on the evidence he received, Sir Gary determined that “the discretion in members as to whom the recipients are, and how much they should receive, appears to be effectively unfettered.”

The Commissioner also concluded that these apparent deficiencies in the scheme are systemic in the sense that they have been maintained by various administrations over the years.

He further noted that although the Clerk to the House of Assembly has apparently failed to comply with her Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) obligations, the deficiencies cannot be said to lie at the door of any specific elected public official.

The Commissioner shared: “Members of successive Houses of Assembly, and of successive elected governments, knowing of these deficiencies and the risk that they posed, have singularly and quite deliberately failed to address them (and have failed even to seek to do so)”.

No limits to grants distributed


According to Sir Gary, although each Member is granted a fixed amount to distribute for the year (allocated in quarterly tranches), if there is an overspend, the Cabinet can (and does) put forward a supplementary allocation, which can be (and invariably is) voted through by the House of Assembly.

He found that in practice, there is absolutely no limit to the grants that may be made.

“Whilst, no doubt, most of the millions of dollars that are distributed in this way go to those whom the responsible member believes are worthy, the lack of governance – including the lack of checks, balances and even records – is very troubling indeed,” the Commissioner shared.

On the evidence, Sir Gary concluded, the system appears to be clearly unlawful; and successive Houses of Assembly and elected governments have willingly and knowingly allowed it to continue as such.

“They are aware that, in so doing, the risk of dishonesty by applicants and/or elected members themselves is vastly increased; and it is highly unlikely that any dishonesty would be detected,” he added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×