By: Staff Writer
February 26, 2021
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) government implements an Inquiry Response Unit (IRU) to handle incoming and outgoing matters related to its Commission of Inquiry (CI).
The office of the premier in BVI, issued a statement regarding the on-going CI into its affairs over the last few year initiated by former governor of the territory, His Excellency Augustus J U Jaspert that it had established an IRU on February 5 in order to deal with matters as it relates to the CI.
The statement read: “The IRU, which was established by the Cabinet of the Virgin Islands, and is led by the Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Cox QC and administered by Withers BVI, will report to the Attorney General, Honourable Dawn J. Smith.”
“The IRU functions as an independent unit to support the Attorney General’s Chambers in ensuring that information is provided to the Inquiry in a systematic, efficient and well-organised way, which is both auditable and accountable. The IRU will also assist Ministers and public officers to understand their duties in relation to the Inquiry.”
Additionally, the along with a website dedicated to responding to the media and public’s requests on the status of the CI, Inquiry Commissioner, the Right Honourable Sir Gary Hickinbottom, stated that he welcomes all incoming requests for information on his report that is due to be completed by the Commission by end of July.
Dominic Raab, first secretary of state and foreign secretary, a statement at the launch of the CI on Janaury 18 that the UK government is “extremely concerned” about the claims on the state of governance in the Caribbean territory.
He further stated, “A consistent and deeply troubling array of concerns have been put to the Governor by local institutions and the community. The Governor has set out these concerns to me,” which included “political interference and coercion” in several public service boards and that persons in the media are “living in fear” and being intimidated by the political directorate.
In addition, Mr Raab said that he understands that money set aside for the COVID-19 pandemic has been reallocated to “political allies,” along with the general misuse of taxpayer money and a disregard for a “proper” procurement process.
Mr Raab also said: “Against this backdrop, we are also concerned about the potential vulnerability of the islands to serious organised crime. The scale of this was made clear in November 2020, with the seizure of more than two tonnes of cocaine, worth just under £190m.”
Premier of the territory, Andrew Fahie, said he will cooperate with the CI and denies any allegations made against his government by former governor Jaspert. Labelling the allegations as frivolous and politically and personally motivated by the governor.
The relationship between premier Fahie and former governor Jaspert had deteriorated to a point where they were no longer on speaking terms, reports from the country suggest. This has precipitated H.E. Jaspert leaving and being replaced by H.E. John James Rankin on January 29, 2021.
