I need more concrete results from gov’t
While admitting that he’s had a cooperative relationship with Premier Wheatley and his VIP government, Governor John Rankin has stated that he would like to see “more concrete delivery” on important reforms the Commission of Inquiry (COI) recommended for the territory.
“The Premier – in terms of what he has said – remains publicly committed to the reform process as am I. What I would continue to do is work on moving beyond those public commitments into further, more concrete delivery,” Governor Rankin told the Talking Points radio show recently.
“To give you some examples – The Whistleblower Act – which was passed under Premier Fahie’s administration, is not yet in force. There were some administrative resource arrangements required around that but I hope we can now implement those without delay and bring that piece of legislation into operation,” the Governor added.
He also said he’d like to see the House of Assembly make the Registers of Interests truly public. Rankin argued that the current arrangement doesn’t facilitate transparency as the COI originally intended. The Register of Interests is a record kept of the financial interests of parliamentarians. 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.
The Governor has been working with elected representatives to implement several good governance changes the COI recommended for the BVI.
The government has so far completed 20 of 48 recommended reforms. In his last quarterly review, Governor Rankin said the government had missed multiple reform deadlines.
The Governor has also repeatedly cautioned elected representatives that the recommendations must be made in a timely manner to prevent the UK from invoking the feared Order in Council which threatens to take power away from locals.
“To give you some examples – The Whistleblower Act – which was passed under Premier Fahie’s administration, is not yet in force. There were some administrative resource arrangements required around that but I hope we can now implement those without delay and bring that piece of legislation into operation,” the Governor added.
He also said he’d like to see the House of Assembly make the Registers of Interests truly public. Rankin argued that the current arrangement doesn’t facilitate transparency as the COI originally intended. The Register of Interests is a record kept of the financial interests of parliamentarians. 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.
The Governor has been working with elected representatives to implement several good governance changes the COI recommended for the BVI.
The government has so far completed 20 of 48 recommended reforms. In his last quarterly review, Governor Rankin said the government had missed multiple reform deadlines.
The Governor has also repeatedly cautioned elected representatives that the recommendations must be made in a timely manner to prevent the UK from invoking the feared Order in Council which threatens to take power away from locals.
