Governor Daniel Pruce has denied double standards after it emerged that he won’t be required to declare his interests in the territory’s new register for senior public officers.
Mr. Pruce explained that he is not bound by the Commission of Inquiry reform as he is a British civil servant and thus under the jurisdiction of United Kingdom rules.
“This comes down to the situation of the governor and the nature under which the post is established and I’m appointed,” he said Friday during a press conference. “I am subject to all the provisions that apply to a British civil servant and a member of the British diplomatic service.”
Mr. Pruce made it clear that he is not obliged to take part in the territory’s register despite being the highest-ranking public officer in the VI.
Asked if this amounted to a double standard, he said, “No. It just reflects the different status of this role and the nature of my appointment.”
He also rejected the idea that he should be treated in the same way as other senior public officers in the territory.
“I am the governor of the Virgin Islands, but I am also a member of the British diplomatic service and a British civil servant — so within a well-established framework to ensure integrity and accountability to that cohort,” he said. “That’s where my duty of reporting lies.”
Scrutinised
The governor added that he has been sufficiently scrutinised.
“In terms of vetting, conflicts of interest, registering anything that could conflict with my role or responsibility, I am subject to all of the very robust provisions that are exercised by the British government over a British public servant,” he said.
At a separate press conference later in the day, Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley sided with the governor.
“I accept the governor’s response that he’s held to account,” the premier said. “He has a particular means by which he registers his interests and is held accountable.”
Viewing restrictions
The 2022 COI report called for measures to strengthen and make public the register of interests for House of Assembly members that was created under a 2006 law.
It also recommended requiring senior public officers to begin registering their interests as well.
In response, the government has opened the HOA members’ register to the public with several viewing restrictions, and it has created a separate private register for public officers.
Former governor John Rankin criticised the viewing restrictions placed on the HOA members’ register, which include a ban on note-taking and making copies; requirements for the viewer to pay a fee and be monitored by the registrar; and a prohibition on publishing the register’s contents.
Such restrictions, Mr. Rankin claimed, “run counter to the principle of transparency” and make the register public “only in a highly limited way.”
Before leaving office, he called on the HOA to revisit the law and lift the viewing restrictions.
The HOA, however, didn’t comply.
Though it amended the law last year with a bill that lowered the $15 viewing fee to $10, it left the rest of the viewing restrictions in place, and Mr. Pruce eventually gave his assent.
Asked Friday if he agreed with his predecessor’s call to lift the viewing restrictions, Mr. Pruce replied, “In terms of the levels of access, I know that’s been an issue under discussion for some time. We now have in place a good and effective basis within which interests that are a matter of public interest which are relevant to the exercise of the responsibilities of public officers and others can now be properly recorded.”
Failure to comply
The 2022 COI report noted that lawmakers had repeatedly failed to disclose their interests as required under the 2006 Register of Interests Act.
Despite frequent reminders to comply, they breached the 2006 law at least 90 times between 2011 and 2021, according to the commission.
To rectify such issues, the COI called for a public register of interests that “gives clear guidance as to what must be disclosed and when and has effective provisions (involving sanctions where appropriate) to require compliance.”
