Dr Wheatley was at the time responding to questions from the media about past mistakes made by members of his new unity government, that have allowed the territory to be left hovering at the precipice of a United Kingdom (UK) takeover.

The new Premier previously remarked that in this new dispensation of righting past errors, there would be shake-ups among statutory boards for instance, and said persons will no longer be allowed to be on multiple boards as obtained previously.

The government has already signalled its intention in accepting the resignation of the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) Board Chairman, Kelvin Hodge.

Premier Wheatley, in the meantime, was asked why members of the current government simply “sat there and said nothing“ in the former government, even as complaints persisted from members of the public.

“Now is not a time to play the blame game, in my view. I’ve expressed very clearly since we formed this government of national unity, that now is the time for all of us to look at ourselves,” Premier Wheatley said.

I’ve made mistakes

Over the past few weeks, the new Premier has adopted a mode of penitence and introspection in the face of current circumstances.

“We have to come together in unity but we have to use a mirror and look at ourselves and where we went wrong individually, where we went wrong collectively,” Dr Wheatley posited.

“I can submit to you without a shadow of a doubt, I’ve made mistakes. We’ve all made mistakes. We all have to look at ourselves in the mirror and come to terms with the mistakes that we have made as a people and agree to move forward,” he added.

According to the Premier, he is now in a position to move forward and learn from the mistakes of the past, leading the territory in the process.

“I am repentant and I have asked the people for forgiveness for whatever role I played, for whatever I have done or did not do that I should have done. And I have learned from those areas and I want to move forward in the best interest of the people,” the Premier stated.

He argued that the present experience should be used to push the people of the BVI forward into the future to become better people and better leaders.

Dr Wheatley said when the time comes, the people can make decisions as to who they want to lead them, but admitted that this hinged on the hopes and prayers of the BVI being able to keep its democracy.