The Commissioner of Inquiry Sir Gary Hickinbottom has expressed frustration following numerous delays in requested information that continues to disrupt the progression of the ongoing Commission of Inquiry (COI).
Sir Hickinbottom made the disclosure during the recommencement of the COI hearings on Monday September 6, where he revealed that the frustration stems from delays dating back several months.
He said, “I am afraid that this morning that we will have to deal with some of my frustrations in making progress. The causes today are very much the same as the causes in June and July when they were fully aired in the open hearings that I held.”
Despite the frustration, the Commissioner made it abundantly clear that he will not be discouraged from conducting his duty, and will press on with his respective tasks to get the job completed.
“I will continue to press for information which I consider relevant to my terms of reference and how about I should make it point clear that I’ve reached the stage of this inquiry when it is more than important that I press ahead and complete the hearings and write and promptly deliver my report, and I have no doubt at all that the public welfare of the BVI requires that I do,” he stated.
He added, “I am afraid that I and indeed my whole team have been frustrated, but I must make very clear nothing and no one will deflect or distract us from completing the tasks set by my terms of reference.”
Submission of incomplete documents dates back to May
In June Sir Hickinbottom revealed that the government of the Virgin Islands submitted incomplete documents to assist with the COI investigations.
He was referring to documents submitted during a May 20 hearing which he said were not a full representation of the information requested.
He said, “The initial COI hearings held in May to which I have already referred confirmed that the documents produced were significantly incomplete and generally in very poor order. Often it was impossible to ascertain the story that they told.”
“For example, I heard evidence from witnesses over several days on the BVI government contract in respect to Radar Barges simply to try and understand how those contracts might have come into being. Even now the COI does not have a full set of the relevant documents,” he explained.
At the time, Sir Hickinbottom further said that the Attorney General’s legal representation, Queens Council Sir Geoffrey Cox, also confirmed the poor keeping of government’s documents which slowed down the investigation process.