Hon Ralph T. O’Neal OBE praised for hospital completion!
He told the public, while a guest on his party’s radio show “VIP Let’s Talk” on January 7, 2015 on ZBVI 780 AM, that the Leader of the Opposition and long time Legislator Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal OBE should be the one credited for the completion of the new Peebles Hospital.
The facts of Hon. O’Neal’s financial stewardship
Hon Fahie presented the fact that when the hospital contract was signed in 2007 by the then NDP regime it was for a mere $64 Million when in fact all the bids had the project at close to 100 Million dollars.
What was also troubling at the time of the signing of the Hospital contract by the NDP Government in 2007 was that they had only secured a mere 35 Million dollars for the project.
In 2007 the NDP was swept out of power in a landslide victory by the VIP in an 11 to 2 seat majority and the new Government of Ralph T. O’Neal OBE [2007-2011] inherited the project.
What they discovered was that only 35 Million dollars was secured from the Social Security Board to fund the project even after a contract was signed for $64 Million.
However, while the loan application was being processed by the bank, the VIP Government had to find the balance of the money in order for the project not to stop. According to Hon. Fahie, it took another two years for the Government to satisfy all the bank’s stringent requirements.
During this time, in order for the project not to stop, it was the wisdom of then Minister of Finance Hon O’Neal to ensure the project carried on because of the importance of it and also because he firmly believed that Government is a continuum.
NDP’s Poor Financial management of public funds
But the money needed, some $35 Million more as the cost had escalated, came from the Government Treasury and caused the Virgin Islands to have cash flow challenges for the first time in its history. This is another example, according to critics, of poor financial management by the NDP, signing projects without securing the funds to pay for them. Many have also said they are back at it again with the Ports Development Project.
A million-dollar forensic audit commissioned by the NDP after they took office in 2011 also confirmed that the hospital project had a devastating effect on the Government’s cash flow between 2007 and 2011.
While the VIP had to find the funds from the government coffers until the loan was granted to continue the $100 Million project, it was at the midst of a deep global recession.
Hon. Ralph T. O’Neal signed contract to finish project
Once the loan was approved by a local bank, the Minister of Finance Hon Ralph T. O’Neal then immediately signed a contract with James Todman Construction Ltd., a local company, to complete the project. This is the same project that was just opened to the delight of the people of the Virgin Islands last month.
It is important for the records and facts to reflect that the first contractor- a foreign company signed with the NDP government -had taken government to court over not having enough money to complete the project, again causing tax payers millions of dollars because of bad NDP financial management.
The VIP lost the 2011 general elections and it meant that the NDP simply had to sit back for the project to be completed as it was already put in place by Hon. O’Neal. This is the reason why Hon Fahie has asserted that the Leader of the Opposition should be rightly credited for the new Peebles Hospital completion.
Who should hospital be named in honour of?
Many persons across the Virgin Islands have called for the new Peebles Hospital to be named in honour of the longest serving Legislator in VI’s history- Hon Ralph T. O’Neal OBE. No decision has been made on the renaming. Recently, while giving a joke about Hon Julian Fraser (R3) not opposing the idea on who should get the honour, Hon Ronnie W. Skelton suggested it could be named in honour of Premier Dr the Honourable D. Orlando Smith.
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21 Responses to “Hon Ralph T. O’Neal OBE praised for hospital completion!”
MR. FAHIE YOU SHOULD GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE TAKING TO THE AIRWAVES, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SUBJECT IS NOT ONE FOR WHICH YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE.
So why is the vip minister of health
isn't getting any credit?
NDP started the hospital and now they completed it!