Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Sep 19, 2025

BVI Premier welcomes clean and honest due process, calls for live streaming of the Commission of Inquiry

The BVI government is calling for a proper and honest procedure of the Commission of Inquiry announced by the former and controversial governor Augustus "Gus" Jasper, by demanding what every sincere Commission of Inquiry should welcome: transparency.
If the Gus Jasper's intentions are genuinely honest and he has nothing to hide, he should welcome the call for transparency.

“sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman” (Former Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis).

In a Statement (attached) Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie wrote:

Good day and God's Blessings to all the people of the Virgin Islands and beyond.

Yesterday, 18 January, 2021, His Excellency Governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert announced that a Commission of Inquiry would be held to inquire into the conduct of public affairs as these relate to allegations of corruption or misconduct.

The full details of the Terms of Reference of the one-man Commission have not yet been advised, but the Governor has indicated that this would be done in the near future.It is my considered view, and that of your Government, that this Commission of Inquiry should be open to the public and broadcast live, including on the Internet, given the international interest that exists in this matter, and I have so advised the Governor by letter today.

As I indicated in my statement yesterday, your Government has no objection to the holding of a transparent Commission of Inquiry. Your Government, which you elected 23 months ago, has nothing to hide and we do not wish for anything to be hidden from you the people.

Clearing the air on long-outstanding contentious issues will help us to gain closure in those issues and move forward, ensuring that trust in public institutions is restored and that institutions are further strengthened. This is important for our journey to self-determination.

2Persons who have done wrong must be held accountable. And persons who have been innocently and falsely accused deserve to have their names cleared and their reputations restored. This is the very reason why, even as an Opposition Representative, I have been calling for Commissions of Inquiry into certain matters –as I have done since becoming Premier 23 months ago.

So, I remain steadfast in these principles, as does all the other Members of your Government, although Governor Jaspert always advised us as Cabinet Members that before a Commission of Inquiry can be convened, that to ensure due process, all Government institutions established to ensure accountability, transparency and Good Governance must be allowed to function and produce their reports.I also wish to reiterate that anyone who has evidence for the Commission should provide that information to the Commission.

This is your opportunity. This is your right.Governor Jaspert’s announcement and a similar statement released yesterday by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have been receiving wide attention in the international media.

Both my Government and I learnt about the Commission of Inquiry for the first time at the same time as the entire world, and I am sure many of you have seen the statements and the media reports.While both statements contained elements that were accurate, they also contained comments that are grossly inaccurate and which have cast the BVI, the present and past BVI Government and the people of the BVI in a very disparaging light to the world population.

According to the parable, one of the most hurtful and dangerous things that cannot be called back is the spoken word –and in this case the written word. So we must trust that a transparent, public Commission of Inquiry will clear up those issues in the international space.But, we must be mindful that the BVI’s economy is heavily dependent on international business; and success in international business depends on your reputation. We have companies and individuals who are today having to face international business associates who are reading uncomplimentary reports about the BVI and its people in the international press.

3The BVI’s international reputation and indeed the reputation of Virgin Islanders and persons who do business in the BVI are affected by these reports that are being syndicated through and republished from the UK media houses.Given the international interest in -and the international implications of –this Commission of Inquiry, I have today written the Governor requesting that the Commission’s hearings should be open to the public and should be broadcast live through the various media channels, including live internet streaming. It is common practice in many jurisdictions for hearings in Commissions of Inquiry to be broadcast live.

This aids the public in having accurate information and in seeing that the Inquiry is conducted in a transparent manner with no secrets or hidden agendas.Section 2 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1880 as amended provides that unless there is any contrary direction, inquiries should be public. Section 9 of the Act provides for the Commissioner to make rules for the conduct and management of the Inquiry. So, if there is any doubt about live broadcasts, Section 9 should clear this up.I wish to take this opportunity to advise members of the public to get a copy of the Commissions of Inquiry Act and familiarize yourself with it.

I will be asking that GIS assist in making the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1880 accessible on the Government website. This Act was passed 140 years ago and has undergone several amendments since –the last being 50 years ago. It is important that all Virgin Islanders learn about the mechanisms in our legal architecture.

And, this is an opportunity to learn about how Commissions of Inquiry work.For instance, many persons may not be aware that anyone who is the subject of the inquiry or who may be in any way implicated or concerned in the matter is entitled to have a legal representative present to look after their legal rights. And, a subpoena to attend or to give evidence before the Commission must be treated in the same way as a summons form the High Court.

Being informed will help you to properly participate in the Inquiry.So let us utilise the opportunity of this Commission of Inquiry to build ourselves in our ongoing journey to self-determination.

I thank you and may God bless these beautiful Virgin Islands and her people.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
×