At a time when the Virgin Islands should be moving steadily toward independence, Governor John Duncan’s decision to use his reserve power to exercise control over government finances was a disheartening step backward toward colonialism.

The move, which Mr. Duncan said will bring needed funds to the police force, is believed to be the first of its kind since 1977, when a new constitution mandated that the United Kingdom devolve responsibility for the territory’s finances to the elected government.

Nevertheless, it is not hard to see where Mr. Duncan is coming from: He holds responsibility for national security, and police appear to be getting short shrift when it comes to funding.

Opposition member Julian Fraser (R-D3) — who of course is privy to what takes place in the closed-door Standing Finance Committee — recently admitted that legislators tend to underfund the police force largely because it is the governor’s responsibility, not theirs. If true, this is irresponsible, especially considering that the governor has no say in the SFC meetings.

Secondly, this week’s back-and-forth between Dr. Smith and the governor has highlighted other problems that apparently have affected the police force, including delayed Treasury payments and an egregious lack of communication at the highest levels of government.

Last Thursday, the governor called a press conference and criticised the government for underfunding the police. The premier responded the next day by saying that cheques were ready at the Treasury, implying that the police force simply had neglected to pick them up. But two days later, the government retracted the premier’s claim, admitting that many of the cheques in fact had not been ready and explaining that Dr. Smith had been misinformed.

Such confusion — which we suspect has contributed to the frequent complaints about government’s failure to pay its debtors in recent years — likely played a part in the governor’s decision to exercise his reserve power.

Still, there must have been a better way. Surely open communication and frank discussions could have nipped any problems in the bud before they devolved into a public spat between the governor and elected leaders.

To our thinking, the governor’s reserve powers should be exercised only in the direst emergency, such as a natural disaster or a military threat. The current situation doesn’t appear to qualify: Though there has been a rash of serious crimes recently, it does not seem to have reached an unprecedented level by any means.

Moreover, if the police are perennially underfunded as the governor has implied, a one-off cash injection won’t solve the problem: Instead, systemic change may be needed, which, again, would need to start with candid discussions and respectful collaboration.

In the future, then, the governor and his successors should make every effort to exhaust all other options before exercising their reserve powers. The democratically elected government is there for a reason.

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