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Kedrick Malone To Review Residence, Belonger Process

by pltm
Jan 30, 2023
11

(PLTM) - Cabinet has agreed to appoint former Permanent Secretary within the Premier’s Office, Mr. Kedrick Malone to review the controversial process for the grant of residency and belongership status in keeping with the recommendations following the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into allegations of corruption within Government.

“The necessary appointment will be made in the coming days so that he can commence his review on the first of February,” Dr. Natalio Wheatley, Premier and Minister of Finance, has announced.

The COI found that the 20-year policy requirement for status was not in keeping with the law.

It was recommended that there should be a review of processes for the grant of residency and belongership status, and in particular the open discretion currently held by Cabinet to make grants.

The CoI recommendation stated that any such powers should only be maintained where necessary; and, where any such powers are maintained, then they should be subject to clearly expressed and published guidance.

“This review could (and, in my view, should) be led by a senior public officer. As part of that review, the position with regard to the length of residence required for belongership applications based on tenure should be clarified and confirmed by statute,” the CoI report had stated.

Dr Wheatley had previously announced Government’s plan to use the 10-year threshold to grant status.

Successive Governments had used the 20-year requirement in keeping with a policy decision.

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Reader Opinion

Please note that the opinions posted are the opinions of its author and does not in any way reflect the views of the management, staff, parent company or sponsors of Virgin Islands Platinum News.

Down2earth

A minimum of 20 years before Belonger status is granted. Our territory cannot accommodate the influx of people residing here right now and land is not grown! Additionally, government cannot keep up with the social, health, infrastructure and economic issues being generated by the current overpopulation. It is burdensome.

The above is a reality.
A native Virgin Islander to the Nth generation.

Just a broke talker

These folks just won't stop sucking off the GOV'T ***. I would have loved to see someone like Conrad Maduro, who is honest and fair, review this issue.

A Friend of Mr. Maduro

As a person who is a personal friend of Conrad Maduro, I can assure you that he would not have taken on this responsibility. Not in the current compromised political climate, and certainly not at his age. Honest and fair he is, but unfortunately, the same cannot be said about many leading the charge in the various government departments and boards.

Common sense

As many know, the UK government was advised to do away with belongership as it was basically discriminatory, particularly in the BVI, because of what the COI referred to as the Open Discretion process. To date this does not seemed to have changed following the Premiers statement that Belongership is a Privilege, not a right. Unfortunately, that statement merely confirms what the the UK Parliamentary Advisory Committee espoused about Belongership, the basic law requires 10 years residency and a clean police record, and, that should be it. A group of individuals secretly deciding behind closed doors who should get the so called privilege or not is highly discriminatory, and, totally arbitrary.
Then, the application process needs to be addressed, because, that is nothing short of blatant harassment.

Winrush

Winrush... Who does the UK give citizenship to? Think of the disgraceful way these immigrants were asked to come and help the Uk rebuild after WWII. How many of them did Theresa May send back to the Caribbean because the UK never regularized them. Can all hypocrites flaunting the UK as a beacon of any type of moral or ethical authority please sit in the corner, the dunce cap awaits you!

but you forget, 'to be considered'..... not 'that should be it'. We also have quotas in our laws on granting belongership. Its a privilege to be in someone else's country. It is a privilege to be granted long term status in someone else's country. they would have to leave after a few years and have the clock start over. The 10 year law will simply be amended. We have to be practical and reasonable. However, if Immigration were functioning as it should, people would not be here so long that they feel entitled. They would have to leave and restart their clock.

Kitchen Suggestion..

First move, Move those present staff that dealing with these matters, get new, fair, good and uncompromised staff to handle them, thats the only way forward, or else its going to be hurdles after hurdles, obstruction after obstruction

Good over Evil.

This is great. This is the right guy for the Job. Please look at all the old applications and provide some kind of communication to the applicants..People being trying to get status update for years on their application and can't.. Will be open to accepf public appointment ?

'Papaya'

This is the going to be the down island man votes that is going to determine the outcome of this election . Well sah

Jesus help us

Another ****

SMH

Why do we like to discriminate our fellow black people. We use the law and the rules when it suits us. if a person is here 10 year plus, paying tax, SS, NHI, clear police record why shouldn't that person get residency. Aren't they contributing to society. BUT as usual we for who we want. People just come not spend 2 years good and they done get residency. And it have ppl waiting for years. How is that fair and right. Next. Move on.

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