Members of House of Assembly refusing to declare interest! -Registrar of Interests expresses grave disappointment while testifying before the 2014 Sanding Finance Committee over this development ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI- The Registrar of Interests was set up a few years ago to ensure that members of the House of Assembly (HoA), particularly Cabinet Ministers of Government, declare their interest to avoid blatant conflict of interest when addressing public policy, that could lead to corruption. With strong backing and pressure from the then Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Opposition the Registrar of Interests Act was passed in 2006 by the then National Democratic Party (NDP) Administration. During the first NDP Administration [2003-2007] there was much chatter about some Cabinet Ministers engaging in conflict of interest while sitting in the then Executive Council. The Act pressed for by the VIP was to set up an office to keep an official log to help hold legislators accountable by requiring them to state their financial interests such as directorships, employment, clients, sponsorships, gifts received and land and share holdings. In 2008 Mrs Victoreen Romney-Varlack was appointed, the Registrar of Interest under the then VIP administration.,. Almost 8 years later, while testifying before the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) in late 2014, as the House of Assembly was examining the draft 2015 estimates, Mrs Romney-Varlack, responded to a question from Honourable Julian Fraser (R3) and Virgin Islands Party Chairman who asked whether the Registrar of Interests had been successful in obtaining any of the request she had submitted over the years? No cooperation from legislators-refused to give information To this question from Hon Fraser, Mrs Romney-Varlack, made clear that her request before the SFC had nothing to do with money for her office in the budget, but request for members to get in line with the administrative functions of her Office. The Registrar of Interest complained bitterly that there has been lack of responses from Members of the House of Assembly. She reiterated that this had been her “ongoing mantra”. She voiced her deep disappointment for such a stance, as the purposes for which the Registrar was appointed were not being realised. Hon Fraser then suggested that, with the prodding by the Registrar of Interest, Members may comply in the future. A senior civil servant who often speaks to this news site on these matters, but cannot use her name for obvious reasons, told our news room that she believes the House of Assembly (HoA) members have no interest in cooperating and are playing tricks while they continue to allegedly engage in so much conflict of interest. The seasoned civil servant said one of the biggest tricks the elected members are playing is once the Act was passed in 2006 legislators next step was to create a Standing Select Committee in the HoA to help bring the act into force, but this hasn’t been done, and she believes “it’s deliberate”. Yet again, the Speaker of the House Honourable Ingrid A. Moses, like she did last year and the year before, claims that the Standing Select Committee will be established. Last year the Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour Dr the Honourable Kedrick D. Pickering (R7) told the public that he has no conflict of interest as a Cabinet member.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 16:43:25 +0000
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