Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

VI Gov’t granted full participation in CoI

VI Gov’t granted full participation in CoI

With the reputation of the Virgin Islands and possibly its constitutional advances at stake, the Government of the Virgin Islands has successfully applied to the Commission of Inquiry (COI) to be granted full participation in the Inquiry into governance.

Government had applied for all Ministers, Ministries and devolved government entities, including the Cabinet, to have the status of a participant and to be represented in the whole of the Inquiry by the Attorney General, Honourable Dawn J. Smith, together with counsel Rt Honourable Sir Charles Geoffrey Cox QC and members of law-firm Withers.

Status as a participant under Section 12 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act allows the Government to be represented at all hearings and will also provide Ministers and Cabinet with a fair opportunity to express their views on matters that are the subject of inquiry by the Commissioner.

The CoI was announced on January 18, 2021, by controversial ex-governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert, who was known to have a strained relationship with the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government led by Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1). Mr Jaspert was also accused of trying to bully the democratically elected government and the legislature.

And, according to the Department of Information and Public Relations on May 22, 2021, the Members of the House of Assembly (HoA) have been granted similar status and are separately represented.

The Commission of Inquiry into governance in the Virgin Islands was announced on January 18, 2021, by controversial ex-governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert, in photo, who was known to have a strained relationship with the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government led by Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1). Mr Jaspert was also accused of trying to bully the democratically elected government and the legislature.

Government has successfully applied for all Ministers, Ministries and devolved government entities, including the Cabinet, to have the status of a participant and to be represented in the whole of the Inquiry by the Attorney General, Honourable Dawn J. Smith, in photo, together with counsel Rt Honourable Sir Charles Geoffrey Cox QC and members of law-firm Withers.


Gov’t doing ‘all it can to assist’ CoI- Premier


Commenting, Premier Fahie, said: "I am pleased the Government has been granted full participant status and has the right to be represented at the whole of the Inquiry. From the outset the Government has stated its policy of co-operation and transparency and in keeping with that policy, we have voluntarily answered all requests for hearings and have supplied thousands of documents. This has required considerable effort and has been time-consuming, for which I thank all public officers.

“The Government continues to do all it can to assist the Commissioner and I am happy that Ministers will soon have the opportunity to present their views to the Inquiry on governance and other important matters," Premier Fahie said.

Premier Fahie, as well as other senior Ministers and public officials, have attended hearings of the COI in the last few days to give evidence to the Commissioner, Sir Gary R. Hickinbottom.

The Government of the Virgin Islands is encouraging all citizens, residents and Government employees to cooperate with the COI.

“The Government’s desire is to see a robust, fair, transparent and balanced process,” the press release stated.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×