Shortly after the April 2023 general election, the six House of Assembly members then on the opposition talked a good game.
Promising to work closely together to hold the government accountable, they announced a plan to form a shadow cabinet where each member would assume specific responsibilities largely corresponding to the portfolio of a minister across the aisle.
This was a great idea, and we applauded it at the time.
But since then, we have heard precious little about shadow ministries. And instead of collaborating to do their job, the opposition members — who now number only five after recent reshuffling — have spent much of their time mired in internal power struggles.
Meanwhile, the government has often escaped serious opposition scrutiny.
The latest sign of a fractured opposition was the no-confidence motion brought recently by Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn.
Only one other member — District Two Representative Mitch Turnbull — voted in favour. Two others — At-large Representative Stacy Mather and District Eight Representative Marlon Penn — were absent, and former opposition leader Ronnie Skelton (R-at large) abstained.
Mr. Walwyn (R-D6) was the only HOA member who debated the motion.
This show of apparent disunity came after other very public turmoil, including the aisle hopping of now-Junior Minister Lorna Smith (R-at large) and now-Deputy Premier Julian Fraser (R-D3) — to say nothing of Mr. Walwyn’s move to oust Mr. Skelton from the opposition leadership in March after forming a three-member “Alliance.”
Moving forward, opposition members must put their egos aside and get down to the business of holding the government accountable. To that end, there is much to do.
At the top of our list is utilising the opposition-led Public Accounts Committee to investigate the government’s deposit of more than $5 million of taxpayer money into the Bank of Asia.
As Mr. Walwyn has rightly said (with strangely limited support from some of his opposition colleagues), that deposit is extremely troubling, and the public needs answers as soon as possible.
Other issues that merit a close look from the PAC include the $10 million-plus overspend last year on annual public officers’ raises, the long-delayed $5 million solar field on Anegada, the premier’s decision to spend hundreds of thousands on concerts over the past year, and others.
Such issues are complex, and addressing them properly will take hard work. Opposition members, then, should return to their original plan to operate through strong shadow ministries.
They should also collaborate more closely across the board. In question-and-answer sessions in HOA meetings, this means working to avoid repetition and focus on the most important issues of the day.
In public debate, it means eschewing personal politics and putting the good of the territory first.
Though an election is due in less than two years, opposition members still have plenty of time to prove themselves to voters.
At a time when the VI is facing turmoil at home and abroad, a strong opposition is needed now more than ever.
