Works Minister protects privacy of taxi drivers in HoA

ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Minister for Communications and Works Hon Kye M. Rymer (R5) has opted not to publicly disclose the names and addresses of persons holding taxi licenses in the [British] Virgin Islands (VI), as he believes it would have been unfair to the license holders to do so and that it would also trample on their right to privacy.

It was during the Tenth Sitting of the First Session of the Fifth House of Assembly (HoA) on May 2, 2024, that the Minister for Communications and Works Hon Rymer, during the Question and Answer Segment, was asked for a list of all taxi licenses issued between 2019 to date and names of each recipient, the District or address of each recipient and the age of each recipient.

The Minister pointed out; however, that the house has a time-honoured tradition of not arbitrarily calling the names of members of the public and that is partly because “they do not have the privileges that we, as Members of this House, possess.

“Secondly, they do not have a platform here to defend themselves. That is why we are their representatives.
That said, Madam Speaker, I do believe it is unfair to the public, to give not only their names in this public forum in answer to the Member’s question but also supply
 addresses,” he added.

Hon Rymer said; however, as per standing order 18, subsection 6, there is an option to decline to answer a question if it is deemed contrary to the public’s interest to disclose the names of individuals.

103 taxi licenses issued since 2019

“Notwithstanding that, I am here to answer Members’ questions and I will do so in the most responsible manner that I can. I would like to assure the member, that to obtain a taxi license, an individual must have a minimum of 2 years of driving experience,” he added.

He said that means in some cases, a 20-vear-old individual can be eligible for a taxi license and, additionally, it is a requirement that the individual is a BVI-islander or Belonger.

Hon Rymer also disclosed that 103 taxi licences were issued from 2019-2024 across all districts.

Although taxi drivers can be as young as 20 years old, just 2 are in the 20-25 category. The majority of applicants (31) are in the 26-36 age range. 32 individuals are in the 37-47 age range and 22 in the 48-58 age range.

In answering the question, the minister added that he hoped his colleagues could agree that it is “important that we protect the individual’s privacy in the House.”