AG blasts biased CoI for blatantly misleading VI public
The Attorney General, in a September 30, 2021, letter to Commissioner Sir Gary R. Hickinbottom, specifically addressed the handling of the hearing conducted on September 28, 2021, where Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) was questioned on the granting of Belongership status.
CoI created misleading impression - Hon Smith
According to Hon Smith, the hearing “has, wholly avoidably, created a misleading impression of the true situation relating to certain discussions of the Cabinet about a sensitive Belonger Status application, and which I consider to be damaging to the public interest.”
She said the issues were avoidable since the matter appeared to have been raised in a manner that not only violated the CoI’s own protocols and essential assurances on which confidential government documents are disclosed, but it also prevented the Minister from being able to present the facts on a matter that was bound to be of acute public concern.
She also disclosed that no permission was granted from Cabinet for the Minutes to be made public, in addition to Hon Wheatley having had no advance warning that he would be questioned in relation to the Minutes.
Minister was ambushed by CoI?
Hon Smith also detailed that the allegedly breached Minutes were not included in the advance bundle, and the minister was not handed a copy of it prior to the hearing.
“Criticisms were put to the minister in relation to the Minutes without having been included in his Warning Letter. No explanation has been given for why he was not so warned. On 17 September 2021, the COI Team requested a full copy of the Minutes (as the previously disclosed versions had some text cut off). No indication was then given that the Minutes was to be used at a public hearing,” she said.
Hon Smith further revealed that questioning was also unfair, “For example, the Minister was asked: "How is it that you cannot remember if you granted a rapist Belonger status or not?".
Situation was 'unfair in circumstance' to Minister
“Even allowing for a degree of forensic enthusiasm, this was unfair in the circumstances since the Minister had not been given the opportunity to remind himself of the facts and would obviously not want to provide evidence to the Inquiry that he had not verified, particularly on such a sensitive matter. Furthermore, the tone and manner of the questioning were prosecutorial and accusatory,” Hon Smith revealed.
This was not the first time the CoI has been accused of referencing documents not given to witnesses in advance.
House of Assembly Speaker Hon Julian Willock, when he appeared before the CoI as a witness on June 18, 2021, raised concerns over documents being omitted from his lawyer's bundle, to which the Commissioner downplayed the issue, indicating that the missing documents were 'not important.'
Hon Willock has also already slammed the Commission for allegedly blatantly disregarding the laws of the VI while hypocritically trying to point out perceived flaws in Government.
'Regrettable' that CoI had to be written - Hon Smith
The Attorney General said she regretted having to write to the Commission in this vein; however, she had recorded her concern at the violation of the Commission’s own protocols and assurances and the potential resulting damage to the public's interest.
Hon Smith further indicated that the manner of questioning implied, incorrectly, that the elected Government had acted irresponsibly regarding the security of the Territory by granting Belonger Status to persons convicted of serious criminal offences.
There continue to be concerns among the public that the CoI has a fixed agenda, that does not bode well for the Virgin Islands as it gears itself for the inevitable path of self-determination.
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29 Responses to “AG blasts biased CoI for blatantly misleading VI public”
the same white man some of us imagine to be the saviour and do no wrong(hold on soon come )
I support your posted message.✓
OF A PERSON / AND AM SURE THE PUBLIC GOT A TO SEE HOW SOME PEOPLE REACT TO THEIR QUESTIONS / LIKE BODY LANGUAGE / THEIR VOICE ETC SOME STUTTER / SOME SHAKE ( ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE TRUTH ?
What’s worse is the meddling with the media and the concentrated media campaign and narrative being pushed by popular media site that most foreigners go to as it has an official sounding name.
It’s sick what’s going on in the BVI and it’s not due to the locals or the expats. All that local vs expat talk is a distraction.
They worked us up into fighting each other firstly then jaspert called this COI and uses the Luke warm non nationalistic expat community to rage against the local minority along with their paid actors.
In the end who do you think will win if we keep fighting each other like dogs in a pen while the master who put us here laughs & profits as these big dogs tear each other apart instead of standing together to jump the ring.
As descendants of the displaced and enslaved we have so much potential when we get back to full health. Africa & Latin America is still healing.
Progress out of racism and slavery does not end with being allowed to partake in a capitalist free for all.
We are stronger together. Stronger with family ties & our non European cultural heritage.
Everyone wants to wear a suit and tie that’s our problem.
The slave powered system of Babylon promotes holding debt, toxic individualism, a budding housing crisis, introduction of addictive substances into society, propagandized entertainment, the criminalization & scientific stigmatization of naturally occurring shamanic plants, dismiss their thousands of years of human usage.
Problem is they can be grown at home. Problem was colored people were using them.
Give them capitalism, keep them poor.
It’s all economic warfare. Tactics & restrictions to make the people poor while blaming ‘corruption’ for the poverty. Yea corruption alright.
Then they make us believe in “our tax money” that must be kept out of OUR hands. Psssh.
Look at Cuba, Venezuela, Lebanon, Syria. Man made disaster zones. The list goes on. People will eventually survive and prosper uncontrollably as technology advances.
Their scared of the ‘third world’ blowing up in prosperity.
Collectively we have less missiles and more value. Thats why they can’t stop overseeing (stealing) disadvantaged nations peoples resources.
Example, if you were untitled to, let me say, $1,000,000,000.00, as a people, and have employed political leaders to manage your affairs, socially, and academically, invonvomentally, and economically, but have suffered great lost, especially financially, let me say:$500,000,000.00 unaccounted for would it matter the skin colour of that are investigating the causes of the unaccounted moneys?
This is a mismanagement probing, not a racist CoI
Note: Black racism is equally as evil as white racism.
Sadly, the are many black skin racist people living among us in the British Virgin Islands.
The minutes of the cabinet were requested but the minister failed to review these. Had he reviewed the very minutes that were requested IN ADVANCE he would have been better prepared to answer questions on the matter. The facts are right there but once again govt officials making excuses and looking to blame someone else...
The COI came here to find corruption, to justify taking greater controls of financial services and the running our country. This would also assist with global acceptance and justification of the takeover and solidify their Global Britain scheme. They will do whatever it takes, trickery, bamboozling, manipulation, the incitement of expats for status they would never be afforded in the UK. All things they have done in their own country to their own people. So to think that they have come to save us from ourselves because we are loved by the UK and it is the right thing to do.
We are not all stupid.
The entire COI is not corrupt. Issues were brought to light that needed to be and corrected.
Hopefully now, the territory can forge a clearers path ahead that is void of partisan practices and greed