With one foot out the door, departing British Virgin Islands Governor John Rankin attempted to garner more powers for the UK-appointed position, sparking region-wide debate on the role of governors in British overseas territories.
His successor is slated to take office 25 Jan., and it remains to be seen if he shares Rankin’s views.
This debate prompted the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States to declare its “alarming concern” about the power grab.
The impetus was a request by Rankin for additional powers, stating that it was required to carry out recommendations for government reform prompted by a Commission of Inquiry into corruption.
During his fifth quarterly update on the reform on 5 Jan., he said that progress had “significantly stalled” in recent months.
“I am not recommending triggering of the Order in Council in order to establish an interim administration led by the governor,” Rankin said in his statement. “But I have come to the conclusion that additional powers for the governor are required to help ensure that the BVI government delivers its commitments.”
Typically, the governor’s areas of control are national security, policing and the public service. Rankin said he planned to write to the UK minister responsible for the overseas territories with his request for additional powers.
That same day, BVI Premier Natalio Wheatley issued a statement strongly pushing back on the governor’s claims.
“My administration has worked in the spirit of partnership with [the governor] as we have delivered reforms, while at the same time executing all of our other responsibilities,” Wheatley said. “This is why all of my honourable colleagues and I on both sides of the aisle are highly disappointed with the governor’s request for additional powers in his most recent update on governance reform.”
He labelled Rankin’s moves as trying to “bypass democracy” and a “colonial act”.
‘Flagrant disrespect’
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States echoed these sentiments in a 16 Jan. statement.
The organisation “noted with deep concern that efforts to bypass the elected government of the BVI demonstrate a flagrant disrespect for fundamental principles of democracy”.
It added that “the governor’s request for additional powers is undemocratic and unwarranted; such powers could only serve as a deterrent in the ongoing reforms process and would jeopardise the progress that has been achieved”.
The new governor, Daniel Pruce, is scheduled to take office 25 Jan. In the days before Pruce’s arrival, Wheatley, in a government press release, called for a week of prayer and fasting.
In addition, the release said, “The public is invited to join the Government of the Virgin Islands, the BVI Christian Council and other churches in collective prayer and fasting, praise and supplication as the Government of the Virgin Islands seeks God’s direction in the future political, socio-economic and spiritual trajectory of the territory.”
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