PanaTimes

Saturday, Jun 10, 2023

Premier strives to ‘clear BVI’s good name’ at COI hearing

Premier strives to ‘clear BVI’s good name’ at COI hearing

Premier Andrew Fahie has said his focus is now set squarely on clearing the BVI’s name after it was tarnished by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) and United Kingdom (UK) officials with allegations of corruption and poor governance.

Appearing before the COI yesterday, October 12, Premier Fahie made it clear that he would not simply be giving evidence to the Commission, but would instead be embarking on a mission to set the record straight.

In a protracted and prepared speech before the COI, the Premier asked for parity of treatment in how the UK and BVI governments — both past and present — are judged for how they have both handled certain issues.

“Even though when you look at the track record of the UK government who called this Commission of Inquiry, in how it has handled its economic stimulus and social support programmes, how it has failed to handle transparency, accountability and value-for-money and other governance issues surrounding COVID-19, I think you will find that the BVI, with our imperfections, does not fail or fall into that same barrel as the UK,” Premier Fahie stated.

He told the COI that both his government and the UK government took similar approaches in skipping procedural and administrative steps, largely in the interest of expediency, considering the urgency of the global pandemic.

He accused the UK of blatant and rampant government corruption and said the BVI has exceeded the UK’s standard if it were to be judged against that benchmark.

Irreparable damage done


The Premier, while declining to single out anyone in particular, said irreparable damage was caused to persons’ reputation internationally in accusing them of stealing funds.

According to the territory’s leader, no local politicians got kickbacks from the government’s COVID-19 stimulus grants which were taken from the Social Security Board fund.

He noted that this was in contrast to the corruption that existed with the UK’s rollout of its social programmes aimed at combatting the pandemic.

Premier Fahie further insisted that no proof exists that shows any monies from the grants were missing and assured that all persons and entities that received grants would be held accountable for the funds they received.

COI destabilising government


The leader of government’s business also argued that the COI was called in a way that destabilises the territory with allegations that the Premier and his government stole money.

Adding that although his appearance before the Commission may be helpful for the COI, it has been a hurtful experience for him as Premier to appear before the COI and try to recover the good name of the BVI.

“I am like a duck on the pond, Commissioner — looking good on the top but paddling hard underneath to get back our reputation,” the Premier said.

The Premier also disagreed that even in hindsight, there should have been more transparency and good governance in deliberations on how funds were spent by his government in the distribution of COVID-19 assistance grants.

He said there should have been more professionalism exercised by all involved — particularly the Auditor General, Sonia Webster, whom he singled out by accusing her of rushing an audit report on the government’s distribution of the funds.

“We’re [the government is] in charge of policy and you can’t audit policies like that – that’s outside of the domain of even the Auditor General,” the Premier charged.

Following the Premier’s statements that ran for nearly 20 minutes, Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom expressed disapproval for what he described as ‘misplaced and inappropriate political rhetoric’.

“I will not be deflected by political rhetoric, and I will not be deflected by inappropriate comparisons with other places. I will stick to my brief, and I will only focus on meeting my terms of reference,” Sir Gary said.

The COI was issued on January 19 to look into whether corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty may have taken place amongst public, elected and statutory officials in recent years. Following hearings, it will make appropriate recommendations as to governance and the operation of the law enforcement and justice systems in the BVI.


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanaTimes
Close
0:00
0:00
US and European Intelligence Agencies Uncover Evidence of Ukrainian Role in Terror Attack on Nord Stream Pipeline
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
Drone Attack on Moscow's Wealthiest Neighborhoods Suspected to be Launched by Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Hold Power Talks with President Biden in Washington
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store As They Broke ''Company Policy''
If you donated to BLM, you got played
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Saudi Arabia and Canada Restore Diplomatic Relations
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Disney has canceled plans to build a new campus in Florida worth almost $1 billion
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
King Charles III being crowned.
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
A Real woman
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
Ukraine More Prepared for Counterattack as Reinforcements Arrive
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Discuss Migration, Defence, and Ukraine
Tucker Carlson is back, soon!
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
CNN: "Joe Biden is asking for four more years — when 74% of Americans think the country is heading the wrong way“
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Cuts Short Live TV Interview Due to Health Issue
US Congresswoman threaten Twitter Files journalist with arrest
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Enough is enough: it's time to end the war in Ukraine. While Russia may be to blame for starting it, Russia is not the one refusing to stop it
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
The land of the free violence
×