Premier denies changing the will of the people

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has rejected claims that his government is altering the will of the people in its handling of the Constitutional Review Commission’s recommendations, stating that the House of Assembly is acting within its mandate to deliberate and determine which proposals are adopted.

“We’re not changing the will of the people,” Dr Wheatley stated during a recent press conference. “Just like any report that’s conducted, a report is handed over. The House of Assembly commissioned a report through a resolution in the House of Assembly. That report is handed over to the House of Assembly for further action,” he explained.

The Premier said that while the recommendations from the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) were informed by public input, not all could be accepted wholesale. “Any report, including the COI or any report, you don’t have to accept all of the recommendations that the report has put forward. There has to be some discussion and some deliberation as to what will be taken forward and what is not going to be taken forward,” he argued.

Premier Wheatley added that while the CRC’s work was valuable, it must be balanced against wider considerations, including ensuring that recommendations represent the entire community.

“The report correctly states that there’s a lot of education that’s needed in the public,” he noted. “It’s commendable that the persons who came out and shared views, but I’m not sure if anybody would be able to assert that everything that has been shared is representative of the entire public’s views,” he said.

He further cautioned that some recommendations came from a small section of the population. “Some of the recommendations certainly have to be taken, in my view, with a grain of salt. So in some instances, some of the recommendations which have come forward would have come forward from just a handful of people,” Dr Wheatley explained.

The Premier assured that the government’s approach to constitutional reform would remain transparent.

“We have to have the wisdom to analyse the report, its recommendations, and to be able to come to conclusions that we will transparently communicate with the people of the Virgin Islands,” he insisted.

The House of Assembly has moved into the committee stage to finalise its report on the CRC’s findings before negotiations with the United Kingdom begin. The Premier has pledged to establish a negotiating team by year’s end and to conduct public consultations before travelling to London for talks.