Junior Minister for Trade and Investment Promotion Hon Marlon A. Penn (R8). Photo: VINO/File

“It’s embarrassing under which our people have to endure,” he said alluding to the state of the Central Administration Complex, the building which houses the BVI Fire and Rescue Services and Members of the House of Assembly. Photo: VINO/File

Hon Penn made his plea as he debated the Recovery Development Agency (RDA) Plan which was before the House of Assembly (HoA) for passage on October 23, 2018. Photo: VINO/File

Hon Penn made his plea as he debated the Recovery Development Agency (RDA) Plan which was before the House of Assembly (HoA) for passage on October 23, 2018.

 “Madam Speaker the procurement rules and the guidelines under which this organisation should function has to be done before we officially move forward… the regulations have to come to this house for us to agree upon the regulations for this agency to function the way it should function,” he said.

Embarrassing Conditions

The Minister also expressed discontent at the conditions public servants continue to live and work under.

 “It’s embarrassing under which our people have to endure,” he said alluding to the state of the Central Administration Complex, the building which houses the BVI Fire and Rescue Services and Members of the House of Assembly, noting that he and others work from the streets. 

He made reference to a male tenant currently living in the Eight District office since after Hurricane Irma because he cannot get his home fixed more than a year later, “I have a tenant that I have in my district office for over a year, his house needs to be repaired too,” insisted Penn, as he continued to bash the present system of procurement which he says, is a very frustrating one in its present state.

Frustrating systems

“We have to find a way to get the help to the people much quicker and what we are doing now is not working, it’s not working and we are fooling ourselves and we are fooling the people. We want them to believe if we change the government tomorrow it’s going to be any more efficient,” he said.

“That is the reality, that is the hand we are dealt… We have a system that is not designed to deal with a total rebuild of a country,” he said, adding, “Everything over a certain amount has to go to Cabinet and I told you how long a Cabinet process can take, I am waiting a year plus on a Cabinet paper.”

Hon Penn said that the Virgin Islands have been fortunate to be buoyant enough to have revenue coming in via the financial services and other key sectors but he insisted the RDA plan has to be more than just infrastructure, “The dollars have to be sent in areas that look towards building an economy… Building an economy that could last, that is an economic foundation, that is stronger than the one we had before, that is nimble enough, that is agile enough for new economic advancement in the territory.”

“One of the biggest mistake we make… is ICT and our failure to ensure that we build a proper ICT infrastructure not just from the public sector but from the private sector,” Hon Penn said.