By: Staff Writer
September 6, 2024
The British Virgin Island Premier, Dr Natalio Wheatley, survives a scheduled vote of no confidence off of a technicality, due to the way it was delivered to the House.
Rising on a point of order, Wheatley objected to a motion of no confidence being brought by Opposition members during last Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Assembly. “The correct procedure was not followed” for bringing the motion, Wheatley claimed, as the motion was sent to the Speaker of the House instead of the Clerk of Parliament as prescribed in Standing Order 23.
The Opposition called for the vote of no confidence because of Wheatley’s admission of a multimillion-dollar salary discrepancy in this year’s budget, frequent and perceived fruitless travels by the Wheatley administration, rising crime rates, poor public infrastructure, and questionable fiscal management.
“The Standing Order says that a notice must be given to the Clerk seven days prior to the item appearing on the order paper, and that was not done,” the Premier stated. He argued that while the Opposition had the right to bring forward motions, the rules and procedures must be followed to ensure proper governance.
Wheatley’s blunders, chief among them was the recent $20 million miscalculation in the territory’s public sector wage bill, have weakened the public’s trust and confidence in his administration’s ability to properly manage the affairs of the territory, Opposition members have further argued.
It appears that the motion was not transmitted to the Leader of Government Business prior to the agenda item being added to the order paper. Leader of the Opposition Ronnie Skelton told Speaker Corine George-Massicote that he believed he was doing the right thing by handing his motion in to the Speaker within the stipulated time frame, while Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn emphasized the importance of bipartisanship in House matters. He noted that the Opposition had, on several occasions, allowed things that were not technically correct in order not to disrupt the smooth functioning of the House.
Meanwhile, Wheatley also tempered expectations of Commission of Enquiry reforms any time soon.
At a recent press conference, he said: “We can’t have it both ways, and we can’t criticise the government for, ‘missing the deadline,’ and then telling you that you’re in a mad rush without taking account for the people,”
Strangely, Wheatley was leader of the vote of no confidence motion in the parliament with him having stood up asking the house on May 5, 2022 to remove then siting Premier Andrew Fahie, who was under investigation for cocaine trafficking to the US. Fahie and his co-accused were subsequently convicted and sentenced.
Wheatley was sworn in as Premier of the British protectorate on the same day and has ruled since 2022.