In May, the prime minister of the British Virgin Islands was arrested for conspiracy to commit drug smuggling and money laundering. A day later, a report came out describing how corruption runs rampant through the government of the British Virgin Islands, a territory of about 30,000 in the Caribbean Sea. This illustrates how challenged many nations are when it comes to living under rule-of-law.
Andrew Fahie, the prime minister of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), was arrested on April 28 in Miami by US Drug Enforcement Administration agents after he had partnered with an informant to help smuggle cocaine in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. The prime minister and the director of BVI Ports Authority planned to make the island nation a major hub for exporting cocaine to the US. In coincidental timing, the UK Commission of Inquiry then issued a 900-page report condemning the government for corruption and malfeasance: “Almost everywhere, the principles of good governance, such as openness, transparency, and even the rule of law are ignored.” The report recommended the BVI’s constitution be suspended, and the nation run by a royal governor. Nearly every Caribbean nation decried the idea. The Caribbean Community called it “retrograde.” Activists immediately began protesting against “a return to colonialism.”
To Americans, rule-of-law is taken for granted since we have never known anything else, having inherited it from England. However, many countries still have yet to develop the mindset needed to be successful with it. Nonetheless, suspending the BVI constitution would do far more harm than good—it would essentially restart the clock. Societies need time to evolve into thriving nation-states. Leaving the constitution in place and better enforcing it is much preferable to starting over.
The BVI parliament replaced Fahie with Natalio Wheatley, the acting premier, on May 8. After negotiating with Britain, the constitution was not suspended, and the new prime minister was given two years to implement the Commission’s 48 recommendations. Perhaps this crisis will convict the people of BVI to hold their leadership to a higher standard, one devoted to rule-of-law.
Source:
Amanda Coletta, “British Virgin Islands Scandal Poses a Delicate Situation,” Washington Post, 8 May 2022, A24
Jim Wyss, “British Virgin Islands Starts Corruption Probes, Amid Turmoil,” Bloomberg, 12 May 2022; accessed from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-12/british-virgin-islands-starts-corruption-probes-amid-turmoil
Brian Ellsworth, “British Virgin Islands Ex-premier Fahie Pleads Not Guilty to Drug Charges,” Reuters, 25 May 2022; accessed from https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/british-virgin-islands-ex-premier-fahie-pleads-not-guilty-drug-charges-2022-05-25/
Alistair Smout, British Virgin Islands Agrees to Reforms, Avoiding UK Rule for Now,” Reuters, accessed from https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-agrees-plan-reforming-governance-british-virgin-islands-2022-06-08/
Photo: Virgin Islands Consortium