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by pltm
(PLTM) - The government is stymieing the growth of locals by only giving them low level jobs, such as ghut cleaning and bush cutting. This was told to residents of the Second District by Chairman of the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM), Hon. Ronnie Skelton.
In his remarks during the ‘State of the District Address’ last night, January 13 in Brewer’s Bay, Hon. Skelton accused the National Democratic Party (NDP) government—an administration that he recently worked under as a Minister—of hiring expatriates for the high-level jobs while reducing locals to cleaning ghuts and cutting grass.
“They get you to do things like clean ghuts and cut bush while you are much, much better than that. You can do much more than this,” he stated.
This, he said, is one of the things that dissuaded him from continuing to function in the NDP, as one of the initial goals of the party—of which he was a founding member—was to put locals in a position of authority and leadership.
“When we started the National Democratic Party, it was about building this country and building its people to own the country, own the businesses, to occupy high jobs in Government,” he stated.
He continued, “But, it seems to me, and my colleague can attest that every time something becomes available for our people, we could only find reasons why they can’t get it. And I couldn’t stand for it.”
With his new party, Hon. Skelton declared that it is his intention to stop this practice as based on his knowledge, there are locals qualified to take up the top tier jobs that are usually given to expats.
“Today…we have people in every home in this country with Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.Ds. And every time an opportunity comes up for our people, they could find some reason why they can’t do the job. It is wrong,” he said. The ratio of expatriates to locals in the workforce continues to be a topical issue in the BVI, as statistics have shown that expats make up close to 60 percent of the workforce.
It should be noted that there is a policy in place that mandates that locals be given preference in job opportunities in the BVI, and when hiring expats, employers must show that they have advertised the vacancy locally and that no local applicant met the requirements.
While Hon. Skelton previously stated that his party is about inclusion and not exclusion, given that the Territory is “a melting pot of people from many countries,” he maintains that Belongers must be given priority in job opportunities.
He is on record as saying “I believe that it is time that Virgin Islanders and Belongers are given real preferences in the job market. No longer must this just be lip service, no longer. We must act.”
The former Government Minister also said, “Our record has not been good on this front. And we need to change it and we must change it. We need to stop thinking that only people from beyond our shores have value.”
