Governor Rankin said his job is to try to listen and learn. He further said this is something he continues to do.

“I don’t think any one person – of course the elected representatives have a particular role for speaking for their constituents – but no single stakeholder group speaks for everybody in the BVI as a whole,” Rankin said at press conference recently.

The Governor further expressed that what is circulated in the media and in the comments sections found on social media are not necessarily representative of the people of the BVI as a whole.

“In my view, one can learn just as much, if not rather more, by being out and about talking to people,” he stated.

According to the Governor, he achieves his goal of interacting by meeting with young people of various organisations, visiting churches and also with members of the voluntary sector and with non-profit organisations.

The Governor said he also holds meetings with persons working on health and disability issues, those in the private sector and persons outside of Tortola, where he is based.

When challenged about whether he has invited local activists to his residence to solicit their views on what is happening in the territory, Governor Rankin replied in the affirmative.

“Actually, with respect, I’m not sure how you define ‘activist’. I know a lot of people who engage in various issues in the territory,” the Governor said.

He added: “Of course there are people who are active on all the issues I have mentioned – people active on Alzheimer’s, people active on cancer care, people active on all these issues. They’re all equal stakeholders in the territory. But yes, of course I do meet people who are interested in political issues as well outside of government and I’m always happy to have discussions with them.“