The leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) on Tuesday expressed their “alarming concern” at the current situation in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) where the Governor of that British Overseas Territory, John Rankin, is moving to implement the recommendations of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) for governance reform.
In a statement, the leaders said that they have noted “the request by the Governor for additional powers which will allow him to bypass the Territorial Government, and implement unilaterally, the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) for governance reforms in the BVI”.
They said they condemn “strongly any efforts to undermine the legitimate Government of the BVI and expressed solidarity with the Government and people of the BVI in the undertaking of the process for reforms.”
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the BVI.
