Missed COI deadlines: Governor at fault too — Premier Wheatley

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has refuted a recent contention by Governor John Rankin that his government has been unduly sluggish in the implementation of agreed governance reforms between the BVI government and the United Kingdom (UK).

During a press conference last week on his latest quarterly report on the framework for implementation of reforms, Governor Rankin said he was encouraged by some of the progress being made by the coalition Government of National Unity (GNU) but expressed disappointment at the slow rate of the implementation of those reforms.

Governor Rankin detailed in his report that just 15 of the 48 COI recommendations had been completed at the end of December 2022.

“I am concerned that the overall pace of reform is slower than expected and it is important that the public do not lose confidence. It is essential that together we step up our efforts to achieve these important and urgent reforms; committing resources accordingly,” Governor Rankin said at the time.

But Premier Wheatley contended in a statement issued yesterday that reform deadlines have been missed for good reasons by all parties involved — both by his coalition government as well as the Governor’s Office.