In the heat of the Virgin Islands’ general election campaign, the one matter that appears overlooked amidst the thrusts, hustings and rhetorical shuffling of electioneering is how politicians intend to fulfil the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

The incoming government after the April 24 general election will face a tricky landscape. Governance will involve walking through a thick jungle of pits, traps and dangerous beasts.

In the quest to govern, a new premier and their ministers will face a Sword of Damocles hanging over the land.

The Order in Council threatening the partial suspension the VI Constitution will serve as a check on any government that fails to fulfil the commission’s requirements. Springing from that Order in Council will be tension in managing the affairs of state.

Consequently, there is no point avoiding the COI on the campaign trail. Voters want to know the what, where, how, when and who of implementing its recommendations.

We all know the why, which is the collapse in integrity and justice in managing the affairs of the territory by past governments going back more than 25 years. There is no innocent party.

The latest revelations include the abuse of the grant process, issues in the granting of belonger status, and the arrest of the former premier for drug-related charges in Miami.

Before that, there was the alleged mismanagement of funds by the previous government.

These COI allegations leave no one untarnished, apart from a few newbies who can claim innocence.

 

Concerns

Issues that require immediate attention include fixing the garbage dump at Pockwood Pond; building safer roads; enforcing safety rules for scooters and motorbikes; fixing water and sewage woes in specific locations; ensuring better health insurance; and correcting the matter of politicians’ pensions.

Therefore, please come clean to voters, and state how you will govern effectively while fully implementing the COI recommendations.

Above all, refrain from the diversionary tactics of attempting to provide Joe Public with worthless entertainment by spouting meaningless words with the objective of grabbing power by accident — a tactic even a 2-year-old can see.