Governor John Rankin pointed out at a press conference yesterday, that fewer than half of the Commission of Inquiry’s (COI’s) recommendations had been implemented as part of agreed governance reforms between the BVI and the United Kingdom (UK).

He added that many of those which have actually been implemented are matters which fall under his responsibility as governor. These include criminal investigations, for instance, which are currently taking place.

One of the main concerns highlighted by the governor in his recent report on the progress of the implementation of ongoing governance reforms was a lack of cooperation from some statutory boards to requests for information from reviewers.

In his report, Governor Rankin noted: “Reviewers Jamal Smith (B25) and Sheila Brathwaite (B29) both reported non-cooperation from a number of key Boards who failed to respond to requests for information, which has, in turn, impacted upon their ability to review some areas.”

The governor said he was aware that, particularly in regard to the review being conducted by Smith, there was “a good number of statutory boards who have not yet responded” to requests for information. Smith was appointed as the reviewer to examine provisions under which statutory boards are maintained.

And although he declined to point out specifically which boards were uncooperative, Governor Rankin expressed that he was aware of their identity.

“Until such time as the report is tabled as necessary in Cabinet and then published, it’d be wrong of me to preempt, but yes, I am aware myself of those statuary boards,” the governor said.