'Protect rights & privileges of BVIslanders' - Skelton-Cline
Yesterday Tuesday, May 7, 2019, at a press conference in Wickham’s Cay II, the Premier announced a series of requirements for the programme and that applications will begin May 13, 2019, “these persons are here, have been here and ain't going anywhere,” Hon Fahie implored.
The initiative, which has been in the pipeline since during the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) campaign trail post-election, February 2019, will see many—especially Eastern Caribbean residents—finally getting a chance to get legal status in the Territory.
Immigration Reform
“It important that we get our whole immigration reform, it’s important that we have the accurate pieces of legislation and policies in place that is known to all,” Skelton-Cline told his listening audience on the Tuesday, May 7 edition of “Honestly Speaking” on ZBVI 780am and streamed on the show's facebook page.
“Each person will know the specific category that they stand, in terms of their immigration status in the jurisdiction, they will know the responsibility and rewards of those specific status… and that they can live as fruitful and functional citizens in this Territory,” he said in approval of the policy being implemented by the VIP administration and led by the Premier.
“Of course we also heard him caution, that yes, there are concerns from what we might term indigenous persons. That means persons like myself who have grandparents, and great grandparents and great great grandparents on both sides of my family,” he said.
Further, the man of the cloth warned, “there must be things done constitutionally that protects the rights and privileges of Indigenous persons and BVIslanders in General.”
One BVI – Skelton-Cline
However, even as Skelton-Cline sought to maintain the status quo in relation to indigenous persons having more rights than those who may benefit from the ‘fast track initiative’, he said the Territory is one.
“We are in fact one BVI and part of the effort of the Premier and this government… is to solidify in legal terms, immigration terms, the status of those persons who been in the pipeline but for one reason or another they have not yet received their status.”
“We are in fact one as a Caribbean people, we are all a part of the African diaspora, we all have the same heritage from the continent of Africa and we have more in common than we have in differences,” he further said.
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10 Responses to “'Protect rights & privileges of BVIslanders' - Skelton-Cline ”
We have people living here in the BVI for centuries and can’t get proper status come on people!!!
There must be a BALANCE…..If we want the economy to grow and be fruitful as we all preach, we must have a BALANCE. We can’t have people living in the BVI for a hundred years paying taxes and making other contributions without proper status. We can’t continue to promote ‘Nature’s Little Secret’ and cannot foresee growth within our country. Perfect example, we experienced two category 5 hurricanes back to back in 2017 and there is no way in hell that a hand full of construction workers in the BVI would have been able to restore this country. People from all corners of the earth came in to assist whether by wind or by force. This born here thing is a sad story that needs to be banished seriously. What does born here or son of the soil even mean? 99.99% of born here have roots from other islands whether down, up, across, inside, outside whatever. We will travel abroad to further our education, further our careers, set up a home etc. Every country have their own status requirement some more stringent than others but there must be a BALANCE. It’s time to change the atmosphere in the BVI and build a better BVI to secure all our futures. The Premier has taken the lead and others should follow and set an example.
At present look how funny it is:
Crazy Bank rates
Crazy insurance
Crazy Taxes
Crazy prices
Companies downsizing
Layoffs
Pay cuts
Lets lead like eagles, not careen off the cliff like buffaloes.