Delivering remarks in the House of Assembly after Smith was officially sworn in on Thursday, the Premier said the fact that a BVIslander has been appointed to such an important office in the country, signals “the dawn of a new day”.

He said the many Virgin Islanders serving in the House of Assembly and other public offices mean “we (the BVI) are getting there”.

The Premier added: “Soon our Commissioner of Police and the head of prison and our Governor post and our ‘Governor General’ post will be filled by a Virgin Islander. That means that we’re getting there!”

Most independent Commonwealth countries appoint a governor-general as a ceremonial head of state.

Premier Fahie added that his government will endeavour to have locals fill most posts within the government.

Talks of attaining independence are common in the BVI’s political sphere. Many politicians have called for a constitutional review to limit the powers of the governor, who is usually appointed by the UK government.

Recently, Premier Fahie has been expressing his own dissatisfaction with Governor Augustus Jaspert’s actions, stating that he will be escalating to the United Nations what he described as an “act of aggression” by Governor Jaspert towards his government.

The Premier has also written to the UK government to complain about recent comments that Governor Jaspert made about Britain’s unwillingness to pay reparations to the descendants of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.