Biwater debacle led to mistrust in pooling investments - Smith
The commentator stated on the Umoja radio show aired on September 5, 2013 that it has now been nearly four years since Biwater emerged within the Territory and sewerage challenges remain and no water has come out of the contract. “It goes to say that what we were saying was true all along… we’re well into the fiasco that we were talking about all along,” Smith said.
He noted that one of the casualties of that period of debate and discussion was the development of mistrust for each other with regard to pooling resources.
The commentator noted that the BVI Investment Club was looked at as a model for the pooling of resources as a people, “When the leadership of the day went out and vilified the BVI Investment Club it did tremendous damage to the psyche of the people of the Territory regarding pooling their resources together,” he said.
Smith reasoned that this was the real sin and tragedy of the entire situation. “It’s not even so much that Ocean Conversion didn’t get a contract or BiWater was a fiasco,” he added.
Smith said the fear and division that came as a result of this amounted to a destruction of people, “When your people are afraid to pool their resources, to build infrastructure, to own means of production, to produce wealth for their families and for their country and provide jobs and security for each other, you’re destroying your people. That’s a very, very destructive force,” he related.
Smith expressed hopes that things would get back together even in the knowledge that there were still other investment clubs around.
“Hopefully we will rebuild that confidence and trust in each other so that we could begin to become self-sustainable and produce and provide food, clothing and shelter for ourselves,” Smith stated.
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