Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition Honourable Ronnie W. Skelton (AL) did not mince words in his contribution to the debate of the Virgin Islands Inquiries Bill 2024 at the 15th Sitting of the First Session of the Fifth House of Assembly (HoA) today, July 16, 2024, calling it one step away from outright dictatorship. Photo: YouTube

Governor Daniel Pruce. The Virgin Islands Inquiries Bill 2024 was brought to the House of Assembly by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) on behalf of the Governor.. Photo: Facebook

The bill was brought to the HoA by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) on behalf of the Governor.

The Opposition Leader said, “I read between the lines of the Premier that he doesn't agree with a lot of this stuff.”

Hon Skelton posited “I think that's what is happening here, and I hope that the other Ministers will get up and voice their concern over this Bill because I know the colonial thing does bind you collective responsibility but I think the Ministers are collective in their responsibility on this Bill.” That is, “they don't agree with a lot of stuff so they need to say so and not just have us in the opposition guessing.”

In rejecting the Bill in its present form, Hon Skelton was unwavering in his position that the proposed legislation simply puts too much power in the hands of the UK’s representative and would lead to the dismantling of institutions already in place. “Some of this stuff doesn't make sense. Here is the icing on the cake, the governor in his own deliberate mind may make regulations for giving effect to this provision of this act, without Cabinet, without the HOA; this kinda behaviour in this act cannot be right.”

According to the Opposition Leader, the bill needs "surgery" and he doesn't think that in today’s relationship with Britain, this is the right piece of legislation. He argued that there “are all kinda of laws in place that you can investigate whatever you need to investigate, you have a whole police force at your disposal. Why do this? This (Bill) is a destructive force [that] needs to stop before it happens.”

Send us a Bill that makes 'sense'- Hon Skelton

According to Skelton, “We cannot allow this Bill to go like how it is; tell him (to) send us a Bill that makes sense; let us make laws for the good government and good governance of our country, not dictatorship, I am not for it Madam Speaker.”

He prefaced his arguments by saying, “You hear about socialism you hear about communism, totalitarianism, if this is not close to one of those totalitarianism, this is as close as you can get to dictatorship.” To this end, he contends, “any educated person sitting in any place of authority, if they can read this Bill and believe in their mind in their conscience, in their spirit if they have one, that this makes sense in a modern democracy something has to be wrong.”

Honourable Skelton added: “If you look at history, wherever the UK was in charge and the local representative had no authority to do anything, nothing happens; we have a good sense, we have a good responsibility, we know what we want, what we need to build our country, yes there are problems we just go doing things without rules and regulations but Madam Speaker this Bill before the House says that the Governor is responsible for calling a CoI. It is just ridiculous in a modern democracy like we have now," Hon Skelton argued.