Good afternoon,

I am pleased to present an update on progress to complete the implementation of the Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. You would recall that His Excellency the Governor Daniel Pruce requested a final extension of the deadline to 31 August 2024 based on our Joint Action Plan agreed with the former Minister for Overseas Territories, David Rutley. The Governor and I agreed that the Plan we presented was realistic and credible as were the various deadlines for completion of its various recommendations which we both believe will provide for sustainable change and tangible governance reform.

During this extension period, we are working more collaboratively than ever to execute the implementation of the recommendations whose complexity and far-reaching impact unfolds as we work our way through the final stages of implementation. In some cases, we have had to go beyond the scope of the COI recommendations to achieve the level of governance necessary to correct decades of governance issues not addressed. As we work our way through this final phase which involves a lot of legislative change, we have had to take time to review some issues from the beginning of the process and work our way to the present so that we make the right decisions that not only fulfill the requirements of the COI, but more importantly, build the foundation for a sustainable nation.

This current process involves going back to the original COI Report, reports of Reviews and Audits, reviewers’ Recommendations, internal and external Consultations, Ministry Policies and draft legislation produced by the Attorney General and her team.  We are now at the tail end of the process where the Cabinet and the House of Assembly must now approve and legislate the measures coming out of the last two years of work. This takes time, diligence and care in ensuring that the changes we make are in the best interest of the Virgin Islands. I think we are doing that, thanks to very robust and sometimes contentious, but necessary, discussions and debates in both Cabinet and the House of Assembly. This is the democratic process we fought to protect, and it is working very well.

Now let me share with you where we are and the work we have completed since the request for the extension. The Commission of Inquiry Implementation Unit has reported to the Governor and I on the status of work completed by 18 July 2024 based on the Framework for Implementation of the Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry Report and Other Reforms. I will reference the update along with the corresponding recommendation number from the CI Report. The updates are as follows:

1. Work on 50 of the 50 Framework Recommendations has begun. As of 18 July 2024, 37 Recommendations (74%) have been completed and 13 Recommendations (26%) are in progress.

2.The Recommendations are currently split into 131 Actions. Of these, 105 actions (80%) are completed, 24 actions (18%) are in progress. There are 2 actions (2%) not yet initiated yet.       These are awaiting other actions to be completed.

3. During the month of June, the Cabinet has approved Integrity in Public Life Legislative Framework (B5), the Institutional and Non-institutional Grant Issuance Framework Policy (B7),     the   Civil Mitigation Policy (B10) and the Statutory Boards Policy (B25).

4. During the month of July so far, Cabinet has approved the Social Security (Employment Injury Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (A3), the Virgin Islands Inquiries Bill, 2024 (B1), the Public Assistance (Amendment) Act, 2024 (B7) and the Financial Governance Policy for Statutory Bodies (B26).

5. His Excellency, the Governor, has brought the Police (Amendments) Regulations into force (B39).

6.  During the month of June, the House of Assembly passed the Crown Land Management Bill, 2024 in accordance with Recommendation B30.

7. During the month of July so far, the House of Assembly passed the Public Assistance (Amendment) Act, 2024 in accordance with B7. The Inquiries Bill, 2024, which replaces the COI Act of 1880, had its second reading in the HOA, in accordance with Recommendation B1 and will shortly have its Third Reading.

8. The outstanding Annual Reports from the Complaints Commissioner for 2021 and 2022 were tabled in the HOA in July in accordance with B45.

As you can see, the Cabinet and House of Assembly have been quite busy with approving policies and legislation required to institutionalize the recommendations of the COI. The workload is quite heavy and demanding, with both Cabinet and House of Assembly meeting as often as necessary, almost daily, to implement the recommendations by the 31 August 2024 deadline. This has allowed us to stay on track. I must thank the Speaker and her team, my Cabinet colleagues and the members of the House for their commitment to meeting every day if necessary. I must also at this point thank the Honourable Attorney General and her very capable team for their response to a very demanding and aggressive legislative drafting program.

You should note that of the 13 remaining recommendations to complete, 8 of them involve the approval and passage of legislation. We have set out a clear legislative agenda and calendar which has been agreed by Ministries, the Governor’s team, AG’s Chambers, Cabinet and the House of Assembly. We expect to complete those 8 legislations and the other recommendations by 31st August 2024. As of today, we are on track with our plan, and I want to thank those I just mentioned, as well all of the public officers for their commitment and hard work for the future of the Virgin Islands.

Now, there is a lot of change happening and more to come. We recognize that the public needs to keep up with these changes, participate in the process of legislating them, and understand what has changed and the impacts on their lives. I have therefore charged the Governance Reform Delivery Manager, Kedrick Malone, and Director of Communication, Karia Christopher, with the support of the Governor’s Team, to provide a program of information, education and communication for the people of the Virgin Islands and those with an interest. I am pleased to report that the program is is well on its way with the revamp of the Government’s COI website, www.vicoiimplementation.vg where you will find all things COI.

On the COI website, you will be able to find and do the following:

1. Track the progress of the implementation of recommendations and actions in real-time at they are updated.
2. Get a copy of draft legislation presented in the House of Assembly immediate after it has its first Reading. In this way, you can provide your feedback to your elected representative before the Second Reading and influence what is legislated. You can currently access a copy of the draft Inquiries Bill 2024 which is now in the HOA in the committee stage.
3. Access a series of videos explaining the COI and the policy and legislative changes that affect governance of the Territory, and most importantly, what they mean to you.
4. Access new legislation passed n HOA, policies approved in Cabinet, procedures for obtaining services and any information you need to get the benefits of the changes made in the Territory.
5. Access all other information COI related, including press releases, statements in House of Assembly, reports, audits, reviews, etc..

The site is a work in progress, and we want it to be your one-stop shop for all your information, education and communication needs related to the implementation of the recommendations of the COI. Please provide any feedback, requests or suggestions to the COI Implementation Unit whose contact details are on the site. I must commend the work on one of our talented civil servants, Mr Joseph “Mattie” Rosan for his excellent work in creating this application which has wider application within the public service.

Looking to the future, we are gearing up to continue the process on ongoing governance reform to make sure the massive changes we are making through new policies and legislation becomes ingrained into the way of life for our public officers and for the people of the Virgin Islands. I continue to say that the successful implementation of the recommendation of the COI is positioning the Virgin Islands for the greater constitutional advancement we hope to achieve in the upcoming Constitutional negotiations. We will not go back to business as usual. We cannot! Thank you. Happy to answer any questions.