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by pltm
(PLTM) - The lack of transparency and accountability displayed by the National Democratic Party (NDP) administration over the years have come home to roost, according to Hon. Andrew Fahie, Opposition Leader.
He said it is because of poor financial management, coupled with questions surrounding several projects, including the $83M cruise pier and land side development, that caused the United Kingdom (UK) to hand down serious policing of the $400M loan guarantees offered to the BVI for recovery efforts.
Hon. Fahie, who is preparing to host his Annual First District Party and Report this weekend, under theme “The Journey Ahead”, told BVI Platinum News that the UK didn’t suddenly see the need to have strong oversight on how the monies will be spent.
“The UK is not imposing this on us. This government has walked us right into the hands of the UK…So the sanctions brought down on the Virgin Islands for loan money and any aid (which will be) mostly controlled by the UK, it is nothing that the UK gave us; it is something that we allowed ourselves in terms of this government,” he lamented.
Hon. Fahie said that in the past five years, he has repeatedly warned that if they do not police themselves, someone will do it for them in a manner which they will regret.
“They are putting the people in slavery and blaming other people for doing it.”
To support his argument, the First District Representative mentioned several issues which have been at the forefront of controversies.
“They are trying to blame the UK for every single thing that has happened, but when you don’t do five years of audited financial statements; when you have a pier park that was over $30M and all you’ve been told is that you could touch the building; when you have $8M shifted from where the House of Assembly approved it for the sewerage project (in East End) into the pier park project, which was illegally done,” he stressed.
The Opposition Leader also spoke about the $7M pumped into the grounded BVI Airways project, which was to allow for direct flights between the TB Lettsome International Airport at Beef Island and Miami International Airport.
He added, “When you have a plane (BVI Airways) that got $7M that has not flown as yet, and the list goes on and on, and this is over the years. So, when you have so many projects and money in question…If you don’t account for the public’s money in an accountable and transparent manner, you are going to cause somebody to have to do it for you.”
Irma Exposed Us
At the meeting on Sunday, Hon. Fahie said that he will speak to many issues which he believes were fast tracked or exposed by hurricane Irma, including financial management.
He said that he had also warned the government to prepare the people.
“History would show that a lot that has happened now, and might I add that has been fast tracked by Irma, are things that I have been warning about over the last few years. Some persons, especially in the government side, made it feel that all I wanted was power, but it wasn’t that; all I wanted was to get my people prepared for what is coming,” he said.
Hon. Fahie stated that there is no doubt that the people could not prepare for Irma.
“The record would bear me out; some of the things that are coming we can prepare for, some of them we cannot stop, but whatever is coming we need to know. Nobody could prepare for Irma, but a lot of what has happened, Irma just helped to exposed what was already there and speed up a lot of what was coming.”
Hon. Fahie’s annual meeting and party will be held on Sunday, January 21, 2018 from 3pm-7pm on the Cappoon's Bay Recreation Grounds. The annual First District Report will be delivered promptly at 5pm, followed by the district party at 7pm.
“So it is up to us as leaders who have seen it from a different angle to bring some solutions to deal with some of these problems,” the Opposition Leader said, as he noted that he will also be speaking about solutions to many issues.
