Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

It’s not right! COI should’ve paused hearings amid COVID upsurge

It’s not right! COI should’ve paused hearings amid COVID upsurge

Premier Andrew Fahie has complained that his government is still expected to produced thousands of requested documents for the ongoing Commission of Inquiry (COI), despite facing severe constraints.

Many government offices have been shuttered, with staff being forced to work remotely, ever since the BVI began to experience a severe COVID-19 upsurge. This has since led to community spread of the virus and multiple deaths in the last few days.

“The government’s public officers, right now, are barely in office — well, not in office. But are still expected to produce all of the documents being requested by the COI; are still expected — whether they have COVID or they don’t, whether their family member is suffering from COVID or not, whether their family member has died from COVID or not — no matter what they’re going through with COVID, with the spike, with the stress of it, with the psychological effects of it with some of the families; are still being asked to produce [this] information,” the Premier said.

The Premier said the only respectable thing for the COI to have done was to suspend its hearings for at least two months given all that is happening, and given the extension granted to the COI.

He said while his intention is not to be disrespectful, someone needed to stand up and say “this is not right”.

Fahie said he had not spoken out before because he was often told to be careful and be respectful.

Unreasonable


According to the Premier, the timeframe being imposed by the COI for submission of the documents was also something he considered unreasonable.

The Premier said his government has produced more than 100,000 pages of documents for the COI, yet they continue to be told that their submissions are incomplete.

Fahie suggested the missing documents likely do not amount to much and said his government will continue to endeavour to produce the requested documents as best as they can.

The COI received a six-month extension to continue its work after complaining that the documents submitted by the government for the Inquiry were in a state of disarray.

Meanwhile, Fahie said his government welcomes a transparent COI but insisted that it must yield a just outcome; this way the BVI can emerge better.

He added that even though the COI was imposed with terms of reference that are “quite questionable and very broad”, his government has nothing to hide and will continue to be transparent and just.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×