London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

COMMENTARY: BVI a global laughing stock

COMMENTARY: BVI a global laughing stock

The British Virgin Islands has become a global laughing stock.

And only a permanent and powerful governance watchdog will prevent future repeats of the present misadventure and travesty that has beset the islands.

In recent days the Virgin Islands has been in the spotlight, especially in the UK Press. And not for great reasons. The latest is links between the government and a colourful and wealthy character from the UK.

Now any resident travelling abroad today will feel a pain in the proverbial gut telling people overseas, he or she is a citizen of the British Virgin Islands. It is the same feeling one gets when stating you are from Nigeria or Haiti, where poor governance is a culture, with devastating economic and social consequences.

People you tell that you are from poorly managed countries such as Venezuela or Afghanistan will look upon you with pity, consternation, and even sadness, in a world striving forward, in terms of culture, society, technology, science, and innovation.

BVI look upon with amusement


The British Virgin Islands is looked upon with amusement, and even some derision today, when compared with Caribbean neighbours. The simple reality is that the present generation has totally dropped the ball socially and economically. And the future generation appears unprepared for taking over the governance and economy of the island.

The country is looking like a comic book to the international community. The reason for this poor reputation is a very bad press internationally, feeding upon the country’s governance woes.

The latest example of bad press is the allegation that the British Virgin Islands Government plans to spend up to $5m on a high flying UK lawyer and politician, a Member of the UK Parliament, who according to the UK Guardian, attempts to turn the inquiry “from an examination of corruption and misgovernment, into an examination of near- colonialist conduct by Ex-Governor Augustus Jaspert”.

Bad press


The UK Lawyer appears to be paid thousands of dollars an hour, from BVI taxpayer cash, in a country that cannot fix its schools, roads, and the most basic infrastructure.

And this bad press has been a feature of the country’s international reputation for years, with words such as dodgy, corrupt, illegitimate, opaque, and illegal, used to derogate the country by specific journalists and newspapers, especially UK news media.

On the other hand, neighbouring Caribbean islands plough ahead to a greater future, with better social and physical infrastructure, far better governance, even establishing direct travel links with foreign capitals in the USA, Europe, and Asia; while the BVI chases a BVI Airways, that appears to have flown to the moon, and doles out taxpayer cash to people, based upon their connections with politicians.

Roads are the same as they were 30 years ago


Thirty years of self-governance and self-autonomy, and the most infrastructure development to show has been the building of churches on every street corner for the business called religion. Roads are the same as they were 30 years ago.

Then the country after spending millions continues to suffer water woes. Albeit there has been some infrastructure improvement: a state of the art Pier Park, a decent regional airport, and a large fully air-conditioned hospital facility. However, the country should be much further ahead. Foreign investors who rule the global economy will probably prefer to park their cash in the Caymans, Turks and Caicos, and even Anguilla, these days, as these countries have their politicians reined in. How did the Virgin Islands get to this sad place?

Change the sorry trajectory of governance locally


Well, instead of throwing the wool over resident’s eyes with silly assertions, and pontificating on colonialism and racism, and driving up the hatred of migrants and foreigners, the country’s leaders should do everything to change the sorry trajectory of governance in the land, and turn the country’s tailwind receive a tail wind towards a far better future. But that takes competence, vision, and savvy, which is nowhere to be found, apart from the savvy to spend taxpayer cash foolishly.

The tragedy of the Sir Geoffrey Cox affair is that it reads like the type of sleaze and unethical behaviour found in a John Le Carre’ spy thriller. A top UK politician and lawyer defending allegedly crooked officials on a Caribbean Island.

Traumatised


And in a land horribly traumatised by allegations of criminal misconduct and criminal conspiracies at the very highest levels of government, and a Commission of Inquiry that appears to most residents of the Virgin Islands to be the last hope for the tiny country’s welfare, security, and safety, the appearance of a jet setting millionaire, UK high official, politician and lawyer, with vast tentacles and deep links to the top of UK government and society, throws a fog over the Inquiry, and further worsens public cynicism and doubt, that the outcome of the Commission of Inquiry will be fair and just, driving a change towards good governance for the Virgin Islands.

The hire of this wealthy, Conservative Party Grandee, over and above thousands of extremely competent Caribbean lawyers, smacks of the type of executive impunity the Commission of Inquiry was appointed to stop.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×