It’s good to know that our new governor has spoken out publicly against the widespread phenomenon of acting appointments in the civil service.
Unfortunately, this has been going on for more than 40 years, because the system is riddled with politics, nepotism, family ties, interference, plain old jealousy, and occasionally the inability to do the job.
The latest high profile example at the Immigration Department is only the tip of the iceberg. Can you imagine the feelings of those involved and the disarray, not to say dismay, among the staff? We probably will never know publicly why this latest switcheroo took place. People know. They will comment online. But they won’t talk.
In yet another case at the police department, a constable who was given acting sergeant grade for the duration of an overseas course is now suing the chief of police because he was reverted to his substantive grade on his return!
If they were all pulling their weight — note that I say “if” — the civil service could be reduced by 50 percent. Unfortunately, nobody is sacked. If proved lacking in one job, for whatever reason, they are moved to another department.
Then our fickle electorate change government every four years, and everything changes again and again.
Corruption
Now, a quote from the BBC concerning an international meeting to combat corruption: “Of course, this is a political meeting. Heads of government are there. It’s designed to look good.”
How true. Countries of the world, including the Virgin Islands, are meeting and signing agreements left, right and centre to try and combat corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. Our two main political parties have even boasted in the past as to how many agreements they have signed compared to their opponents!
In my opinion, this is just window dressing. Countries are not going to spend all their time and energy feeding personal financial information around the world. They might look into something or someone if asked specifically, but France has found that this system doesn’t work to their satisfaction. And why does the United States allow Delaware, and the United Kingdom its offshore islands and overseas territories, to act as tax-free jurisdictions?
Following on from that, many VIslanders, who presumably also have US citizenship, recently flocked to St. Thomas to vote in the US elections.
So presumably they are registered voters? So they are “in the system.” Woe betide anyone who is not paying their taxes to the US government on their worldwide (VI?) income. With the US FATCA agreements in place, Uncle Sam and the IRS will get you in the end!
Judicial system
Now on to our judicial system, from police, to prosecutors, to justices and magistrates. “Our” criminals, especially in high profile cases, seem to have enough money to hire hotshot lawyers who run rings around what appears to be our inept police and government lawyers. So much so that the courts are getting fed up and dismissing cases, even where it appears that conviction and stiff sentences might be in order. Of course, many of these defence lawyers come from overseas, and many cases are postponed because they cannot keep coming to the VI.
Lower down the scale, when it is announced that the police have taken such and such marijuana plants into custody (do they use handcuffs?), they presumably do know that it is marijuana? That being so, why do those accused of growing it, or possessing it, have to keep going to court and having their cases postponed because of the lack of an overseas expert coming to the VI to confirm that it is marijuana? What state is it in, if it still exists, by the time the expert eventually comes? Surely we can do better than this?
{fcomment}