We were pleased to hear Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley renew his commitment to passing long-promised freedom-of-information legislation.
Now, he and other legislators must rise above lip service, passing the law as soon as possible and permanently instilling a culture of transparency that has long been lacking in the government.
Mr. Wheatley told the Beacon in a recent interview that he is “determined” to pass FOI legislation, which he said is essential for the Virgin Islands to establish a “model democracy.”
He is right, and we believe he is sincere. After all, he has been calling for FOI legislation since long before he was first elected to the House of Assembly in 2019.
Recently, the Constitutional Review Commission added its voice to the call for a FOI law in the report it released last year ahead of the pending constitutional negotiations.
And last month, the bill was included in the government’s 2025 legislative agenda as outlined in the governor’s Speech from the Throne.
We hope that these developments mean that momentum is truly building to finally resolve the issue.
After all, FOI promises are more than 20 years old. A bill was drafted in the mid-2000s by the Law Reform Commission, but it was never introduced in the HOA. Instead, the issue has languished, with lawmakers’ vocal support occasionally resurfacing only to be followed with inaction.
Sadly, the VI is a laggard in the region when it comes to FOI. A report released last year by the Jamaica-based Media Institute of the Caribbean stated that nine of the 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the region had enacted FOI laws.
That list includes United Kingdom overseas territories like the Cayman Islands and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States members like St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Many of these jurisdictions have similar economies and political systems as the VI, and there’s no reason similar legislation wouldn’t work here.
But as VI policymakers move to craft a modern FOI bill, there’s a lot to consider. Any bill must be comprehensive and include all government agencies and statutory boards as well as all forms of printed and electronic communication.
While exemptions to disclosure of individuals’ sensitive information such as health data and social security numbers can be written into the bill, the public should have access to as much government information as possible.
To that end, the law should include a “presumption of openness” stating that government information should be public until a strong case is made that it shouldn’t be — and not the other way around.
Additionally, we agree with Mr. Wheatley that FOI requests should be free to make. They also should be processed efficiently, with a robust and fair appeals process available for any request that is denied.
There are lessons to be learned from elsewhere in the Caribbean. The Media Institute of the Caribbean found that many FOI laws in the region are too weak to be very effective — or they are simply ignored by governments. The VI must do better, passing a strong FOI law and following it up with the actions required to ensure it functions as intended.
Other complementary bills may be needed to require officials to document their decisions and implement other best practices.
Ultimately, achieving Mr. Wheatley’s FOI vision will require hard work and a shift in mindset across the public sector. But the result of this endeavour will be a huge step forward for all VI residents — and important progress toward the next stage of the territory’s political development.