We are disappointed that the government and the governor missed their Aug. 31 deadline to complete the Commission of Inquiry reforms, but the delay does not detract from the extensive progress already made over the past two years and three months.
As of today, reforms to enact at least 47 of the 48 COI recommendations are in place, according to Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley.
Those measures are sweeping, and they include many well-conceived governance reforms: an overhaul of public assistance programmes; better policies relating to the use of crown land; new procurement rules; curbs on lawmakers’ discretionary powers; public service reform; new integrity rules; better vetting for law enforcers; and many more.
Such steps were sorely needed, and many had been recommended by government watchdogs for decades without action.
Now leaders must pull out all the stops and complete the remaining reform work this month as the premier has promised.
But even then, the true work of reform will be only just beginning. Now and in the coming years, leaders must also ensure that the COI measures are properly implemented over the long term. To that end, new laws and policies must be followed and enforced, new protocols and agencies must be fully funded, and new systems must be set in motion and carefully monitored.
If such steps are followed, the COI exercise should result in a dramatic and sustained improvement to the distressingly poor governance that dragged the territory down for decades.
As always, the responsibility for reform now and in the future does not fall solely on VI elected officials and public officers, but also on Governor Daniel Pruce, his team and the United Kingdom government.
Just like the local VI government, the UK government has repeatedly fallen down on the job in the VI for decades through inaction, poor transparency and inadequate oversight. And although it’s somewhat understandable that the recent UK election has caused delays, we were troubled to learn on Aug. 30 that London had not yet responded to Mr. Pruce’s May report on the progress of COI reforms.
But this week, the premier and governor are in London to meet with newly appointed UK Overseas Territories Minister Stephen Doughty. We trust that they will get plenty of feedback and return ready to hit the ground running on the rest of the reform work, which includes passing a series of bills designed to improve the governance of statutory bodies.
After that, a sustained team effort will be needed to ensure that the reforms are properly implemented and followed. In some cases, this will require a change of attitude.
In recent months, we were alarmed at times that some VI lawmakers refused to consistently support the COI reforms. In July, for instance, both government and opposition legislators used the term “dictatorship” to describe a bill to modernise the Commission of Inquiry Act 1880. While the legislation ultimately passed, such rhetoric is distracting and unhelpful.
The opposition continued along this path early last week, creating further delays by moving for a vote of no confidence against the government on the eve of the London talks. Though opposition members are right to hold the government to account — and to work hard to ensure that the COI reforms are fit for purpose — their recent tactics risk hindering COI reforms supported by the great majority of the public.
We hope, then, that Dr. Wheatley meets his new target. Then his government must double down, working tirelessly with the opposition, the governor and the UK to ensure that the reforms transform governance in the VI for the better over the long term.
The people of the territory have waited much too long already.
This editorial has been updated from the print version originally published in the Beacon‘s Sept. 5 edition.