Wednesday, November 4 – His Excellency Governor David Pearey and Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE today joined forces at a press conference to officially launch the Cabinet Handbook.
Addressing the members of the House of Assembly, senior Government officials and members of the media gathered for the occasion, Governor Pearey said the Cabinet Handbook is indicative of attempts being made to modernise and create greater efficiency in the BVI Government.
Governor Pearey said, “Cabinet Government in the BVI should be and must become more efficient and effective than its predecessor, the Executive Council. Cabinet Government is not just Executive Council by another name; it is a different form of government.”
According to the Governor, “No important institution can function without an agreed and proper set of rules to guide the way it does its business and that is certainly true of any cabinet around the world.”
He also noted that the handbook should help emphasise the fact that the work of Cabinet has to be of utmost priority for public servants. “It is the pinnacle of Government in the BVI and the deliberations that lead to proposals coming to Cabinet and the decisions made by Cabinet have to be given the highest priority throughout the public service, in order to deliver for the people of the BVI this effective form of Government that we all strive for,” Governor Pearey stated.
In his remarks, Premier O’Neal also underscored the importance of the Cabinet Handbook, saying it ranks next to the BVI’s constitution. The Premier stated emphatically that there is a distinct difference between Executive Council and Cabinet in that Cabinet Ministers are ones responsible for making the decisions, not the Governor.
The process of creating the handbook started shortly after the establishment of the first BVI Cabinet in 2007 and was led by Cabinet Secretary Mr. Otto O’Neal. The Premier said, “In producing it, references had to be made to the constitution several times because we wanted to ensure that what was in that handbook was not ultra vires the constitution.”
He urged that the decisions of Cabinet are to be taken seriously, “We would expect that when papers come to Cabinet, the people responsible for preparing them, give you the whole story, the pros and cons of the subject under discussion because unless you have that you cannot make a decision properly.”
The Premier noted that the handbook, like the constitution is not perfect and over time, matters would need to be clarified or further explained. “Like the constitution, it is similar to a tree, it is growing. After all it is the first time we have had Cabinet Government and it is humanly impossible to be perfect the first time. I am sure as time goes on there will be amendments to the guide book but we had to start somewhere,” Honourable O’Neal stated. He encouraged those using the Cabinet Handbook to bring any matters needing clarification to the attention of the Cabinet Secretary who in turn will inform Cabinet.
According to the foreword of the newly released document, the “Cabinet Handbook is intended to assist with sound management of the policy cycle, and in so doing, with the delivery of noticeable consistency in quality policy formulations.” It also states that, “Ministers will be better able to deliver fully on their individual and collective responsibilities to Cabinet due to better-informed decision-making. This Cabinet Handbook is intended to facilitate the coordination of policy development in a strategic way.”
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