London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

OPINION: Motivation behind COI immaterial! It’s about truth, reconciliation

OPINION: Motivation behind COI immaterial! It’s about truth, reconciliation

The apparently unprecedented events taking place in the world during our lifetime actually are not unprecedented in life, for there is nothing new under the sun.

What has been, willl be; and what will be has been. However, there are some common threads linking these events together, with the most powerful of them being the revelation of truth.

John 8:32 tells us: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. The world is on a truth and reconciliation crusade and the BVI is no exception.

Therefore, if we are to make constructive use of this Commission of Inquiry (COI), putting aside arguments of its origin and motivation, we must place it in the wider context of world events and treat it as a truth and reconciliation commission — both on the part of the United Kingdom (UK) and the Virgin Islands (VI).

System Reconciliation


The outcomes of the issues and matters to be examined during this six-month COI will determine, first and foremost, whether our current public service governance system is adequate to effectively manage the operation of our Government and to provide the mechanisms by which it and public officers (political and administrative) are held to account.

Good governance requires administrative systems to deliver efficient and effective results; standards to ensure compliance with rules; controls to manage and minimise risks; and codes to ensure ethical conduct. These necessary elements must be in place to safeguard against human susceptibilities.

We must, therefore, once and for all, speak truthfully about our experiences with our current governance system in order to determine if it has evolved adequately to facilitate all of the needs of a nation engaged in global enterprises and of a people whose aspirations are the same as those in any developed society.

With these truths spoken and written, we must move to quickly reconcile the gaps between the needs of the territory and its people, and the ability of our system of governance and our institutions to deliver the outcomes required to move the territory forward to greater self-determination.

“Truth Stands Alone”


We can only achieve the best outcome for the territory, if we accept that the truth stands alone and is no respecter of persons. Neither the receivers of the COI information nor the persons providing the information can change the truth. Recent world events have taught us that misinformation, conceived in darkness and majestically cloaked in grandeur, quickly evaporates in the information age of truth and revelation. This is the new paradigm that is ushering in a new era of justice, equality, transparency and peace in the world. VI is no exception.

At our core, Virgin Islanders are a strong, honest, resilient, self-sufficient and independent people who have built an enviable society through strong leadership, hard work and always playing by the rules. Those of us who have worked in senior roles in public service are aware of the challenges of working within our limited governance system with its many gaps that only widen as the demands and needs of the Territory and its people increase. It is not sustainable and now is the time to fix it.

Small size issue


Through the creative use of public-private partnerships, the territory has managed to maintain its competitive posture in most arenas externally. Internally, we struggle to meet the domestic demands of a people whose quest for a good quality of life is no different in the West End of Tortola than it is in the West End of London.

But one size of governance does not fit all. Limitations related to small size, population, resources, family relations, equitable work distribution and other issues unique to small societies require a different, appropriate and relevant governance model, a fact recognised by the United Nations in its Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) governance standards.

Towards self-determination


As a people of faith, we know that all things work together for good and that sometimes things that come against us that seem evil work for our good. We have come this far by faith and we should not let doubt, fear and mistrust cripple our quest for greater self-determination. History holds the truth and has taught us many valuable lessons of who we are as Virgin Island and United Kingdom people and nations.

Let us use remember the admonition of the late Chief Minister H. Lavity Stoutt to learn from our mistakes and let knowledge, instinct, history, information and discernment guide and direct our path to the future with the help of God. Let us live our faith. It is in our DNA.

This is our moment, Virgin Islands! Truth ushers in change and reconciliation. Both are prerequisites for greater self-determination.

Kedrick Malone is a former senior official with the Government of the Virgin Islands

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×