TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands – Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has promised “to negotiate very hard” with the United Kingdom to retain control over key institutions in the BVI as preparations are being made for constitutional talks.
Dr Natalio WheatleySpeaking on a radio programme earlier this week, Wheatley said the government would push to preserve and expand its authority during the upcoming constitutional negotiations with the UK.
“We are going to negotiate very hard with the United Kingdom to ensure that we are able to maintain control of our immigration department, maintain control of our customs department, maintain control of our financial investigation agency,” he said.
The negotiations follow the conclusion of a self-assessment process related to the 2022 Commission of Inquiry (COI) reforms, which were implemented after the UK threatened direct rule.
“We were on the brink of direct rule, and now we have a pathway to self-determination.”
He said his administration had completed most of the legislative and policy work outlined in the UK-BVI Framework for governance reforms. “It involved passing maybe about 17 pieces of legislation in the House of Assembly… countless hours in the House of Assembly and in Cabinet,” he said. “We fought through and we got through it.”
The BVI currently operates under a partially retained Order in Council, which empowers the UK to suspend the constitution if reforms fall short. Although the Premier acknowledged the UK’s support during the reform process, he maintained that “we cannot stay in the position where we are forever… We have to be able to advance, we have to be able to move forward.”
The negotiations come amid rising tensions over a recent UK-commissioned law enforcement review, which some local leaders criticized as threatening BVI autonomy. Premier Wheatley urged solidarity among legislators in opposing some of the reforms in the review. He reported that a letter representing the BVI’s perspective was drafted to be dispatched to UK officials.
“We want every single member to join together in lockstep, not one over here doing their own thing and another over there doing their own thing,” Wheatley said. “I look forward to all 13 members signing that letter and [to us] having a united front and a united voice.”
