In a statement on Tuesday from the Chief Minister, he said after much careful deliberation and in accordance with Section 16 of the constitution, he advised Governor David Pearey to revoke the appointment of Alvin Christopher as Minister of Communications and Works.

The Chief Minister’s statement said his government agrees this is the best position to take as they move forward to achieve their objectives.

"As we continue to work for the benefit of the BVI, I would like to thank the Honourable member for his service in that Ministry over the past several months," he said.

The Chief Minister added, "My colleagues and I in government agree that this action is in the best as we continue our progress towards achieving the objectives which we have promised to the people of this territory."

The Chief Minister advised Governor Pearey that Territorial at Large representative, Elmore Stoutt, be appointed new Communications and Works Minister.

The Chief Minister welcomed Stoutt to his new and first Ministerial position and said he has great confidence that he will succeed in moving forward the important work of the Ministry of Communications and Works.

The news of the sacking of the Minister did not come as a surprise to many people in the territory, the surprise maybe that they did not expect it so soon.

Christopher seems to have had what could be described as a tug-of-war with his colleagues in government as regards the Telecommunications Bill over the past few weeks.

This bill was presented for its second and third readings when the House met a few weeks ago. The bill at that time was taken off the Order Paper on the request of the Chief Minister, which he said was in the interest of the people in the BVI.

At the point when the bill was introduced for its second reading, the opposition leader Ralph O’Neal stood up and quoted Section 50 of the Standing Order of the House, which among other things says that persons who have a pecuniary interest, in this case any telecommunications company in the BVI, could not vote or debate the bill.

There were some legal implications as explained by the Attorney General Cherno Jallow and the bill was finally removed from the Order paper. But before that, some members of government and one member of the opposition had indicated that they were willing to abstain from voting on the bill.

The Chief Minister promised after the bill was withdrawn for the first time that it would be debated at the next sitting. In this sitting last week, the bill was again taken off the order paper following a vote.

Christopher, who again was the mover of the motion, did not vote with other government ministers to have the bill taken off the Order paper. He abstained along with another opposition member Mark Vanterpool who in the first sitting had said he would not vote on the bill.

The Chief Minister, following the withdrawal of the bill, said among other things it is government’s strong feeling that the people of the territory will be far better served by government taking more time to present the bill -- and in taking that time to avoid making mistakes that would require far more time and energy to fix down the road.

He maintained that liberalization is the cornerstone of his administration and promised that the bill will be presented and passed in the next three weeks.

The issue of whether it came as a surprise when Christopher did not vote with the government to remove the bill was put to the Chief Minister at a news conference on Monday. The Chief Minister said the move by Christopher surprised him.

Following the revocation of Christopher’s position, the Chief Minister was asked to give a reason and if it had to do with the Telecommunications issue. He said there were sufficient reasons given in his statement -- to move on, taking care of business and doing what the government has to do in the best interest of the country.

He was asked if the telecommunications issues had anything to do with government and his reply was, ‘I would not say that.’

The Chief Minister also said that, when Christopher did not vote with government to have the bill taken off the Order Paper at last week’s sitting of the House, he did so based on his conviction he had of what is needed to be done for the territory.

The Chief Minister said Christopher is still a member of the National Democratic Party.

The position of Communications and Works is now filled by the newest member to the government, Territorial at Large representative Elmore Stoutt.

Mr Stoutt says the basic thing is to provide service to the people at the highest level and ensuring that the Legislative Agenda in regards to Communications and Works realizes its objective and he is dedicated to do that.