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by pltm
(PLTM) - The fears that were held by the Government regarding the $400M United Kingdom loan guarantee have been allayed, and Premier and Minister for Finance, Hon. Andrew Fahie has announced that as negotiations continue with the UK Government, he is leaning towards signing the document.
The Premier announced during the September 2 sitting of the House of Assembly that he needed to renegotiate the conditions of the UK loan agreement, citing among other things that obtaining a loan under the present conditions of the agreement might put the Territory outside of the debt ratio stipulated in the Protocols for Effective Financial Management.
Following a series of public consultations, the Premier then led a delegation to London with hopes of having the matter ironed out.
How The Meeting Went
During a press conference held on September 17, aimed at reporting on the meeting, Hon. Fahie announced that the trip was a success. The Premier stated that during his time in London his delegation held a total of eight meetings with officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), including its Director, Ben Merrick; Ministers of the UK Government – Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, who is the Minister responsible for Overseas Territories, and Minister James Doddridge from the Department for Exiting the European Union (DEXEU); Baroness Patricia J Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat; and officials of Her Majesty’s Treasury.
Hon Fahie said that as a result of the various sit-downs in London, negotiations remain active and verbal assurance was provided in relation to the concern about the debt ratio.
Further, the Premier announced that the UK requested a proposal from the Government. This proposal is to be submitted by September 27.
The Meeting
Premier Fahie explained that most of the concerns with the conditions stemmed from “verbiage”, as he mentioned that the document was vague about very important matters and that he felt it necessary to get the terms clarified clearly before signing.
In noting his concern about how the document was worded, the Premier said, “Most of what will take place, if we don’t check on the verbiage and have it spelt out, it may not affect this generation, but generations to come – it will.”
In providing details about the discussions, the Premier told the media, “We sat down with Her Majesty’s Treasury. We sat down with the FCO and the same thing that we are saying here we said to them. We told them in terms of the best interest of the people of the BVI, and they also said that they have the best interest of the people of the BVI [to] bring the proposal, bring certain things and then let’s talk.”
The Premier said that the fact that the UK requested the proposal is a sign of willingness to understand and make the best decision.
“That tells me that the doors have been open…Lord Ahmad has been more than accommodating, the FCO Office has been more than accommodating, and the discussions have been going well.”
However, it was noted that the matter has not been finalized.
“We’re still in live negotiations with the United Kingdom, because we are still holding fast to some of our areas. We are bringing the proposals forward and we’re going to still be in the discussions. They have made the Treasury accessible to us with discussions to carry on. Some areas we have seen right away that there is common grounds…Other areas we are still in discussion and we’ll see how it goes,” Hon. Fahie said.
Governor’s Role
Prior to the Premier’s departure, there were widespread debates about whether His Excellency Governor Augustus Jaspert was going to be part of the delegation. This was fueled by disclosure that was made by the Premier that the Governor indicated an interest in the trip and was written to ask to justify his inclusion.
On Tuesday, the Premier confirmed that the Governor did travel to London and participated. In fact, the Premier thanked the Governor for his participation.
“Attending two of the meetings regarding the loan guarantee conditions was His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Augustus Jaspert, whom I also wish to thank for his involvement with my team during these discussions and for arranging the itinerary to facilitate the deliberations between the Virgin Islands Government and the FCO,” Hon. Fahie said.
When pressed further about what the Governor’s participation entailed, the Premier replied, “Everyone played their role.”
Degradation of BVI/UK Relationship
In the past week a comment in a letter by FCO Director Merrick, and further discussion by the Opposition raised concern in the Territory that the BVI/UK relationship had degraded. However, the Premier has refuted this notion and announced that there is no erosion of the relationship between the two governments.
“Our disagreement, or difference of opinion, or difference of interpretations were always with what can we get out of it in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands. That has been our sole intent…I don’t ever see the relationship as one that’s bad with the UK and ourselves, but if you are telling me that I must always agree with your point of view because we are friends, that is not a friend. That is more as the old people say, ‘if someone agrees with everything that you do that is not a friend that is a hypocrite.’ When you can agree to disagree, that is where good relationship and sound good governance comes in. I respect your position, you respect mine; and that’s what the Virgin Islands Government is doing,” Hon. Fahie added.
Loan Agreement Deadline
In his letter that was made public, FCO Director Merrick mentioned that the Territory needed to inform whether or not it wishes to proceed with the UK’s offer of a loan guarantee by the end of the September.
Whether or not this deadline is still in place was asked by the media during the press conference. The Premier responded saying, “We spoke to the FCO on this and one of the areas of bringing it (proposal) in the 27 (September) is to see if we can make the deadline. To see if we come together in one accord with all the areas that are still under negotiation. One thing I can say with them is that they have said that whatever adjustments needed to be made, to make sure that we try to iron out those areas that they’re going to work on.”
“In anything you have target dates that are set and we’re working towards those targets, but at the same time the windows and doors are open for us to continue discussion,” Hon. Fahie added.
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