Should the Premier 'bell those cats'?
The commentator felt that the Premier could certainly rein in his Ministers on that issue and also recommended that Dr Smith rein in his Ministers on using the Emancipation service as a platform for very "contentious" political issues and instead allow that platform to be used to celebrate the ancestors of Virgin Islanders.
“I would like to see him take a strong stance on that and rein in some of the behaviours of the Ministers,” he said.
“I think that there are a few statements that have been made by Hon. Walwyn and I even think, Hon. Vanterpool that would have been more appropriately stated by the Premier; but perhaps the Premier doesn’t seem to mind that because he doesn’t seem to voice any objection to it,” Wheatley stated.
During the Sunday Morning Well service held on August 4, 2013 Education Minister Hon. Myron V. Walwyn called for the children of expatriate parents to be freed with respect to them being granted citizenship upon their birth in the Virgin Islands.
At the same service, Hon. Mark H. Vanterpool re-stated a call he had made the previous year for the Territory to move closer towards self-determination.
Meanwhile, during a press conference held by Premier Smith yesterday, August 20, 2013 Premier Smith said he thought Hon. Walwyn’s statement was made in his own personal capacity and did not represent the position of the government as this had not been discussed by Cabinet.
“It has not been discussed by the Cabinet or the caucus of government. It was a statement made by the Minister and it was the personal way he felt about it,” Dr Smith said. He added that it is a matter that he was sure will be discussed and the government would determine when that would happen.
When asked whether he supported the Minister’s view, Dr Smith said, “I think that the question of birth citizenship is something that is very detailed. It’s not something that you can just make a statement without considering all the ramifications. The thing that is important too is that the British Nationality Act is not an Act under the laws of the BVI, it is an Act under the United Kingdom.”
The Premier added that any recommendations that will be made will have to be made to the UK as far as he was concerned and any such recommendation will have to be discussed widely internally with the people of the Virgin Islands.
He further expressed that he felt the issues of the Territory’s independence and that of self-determination, while being closely linked, were not one and the same.
According to the Premier, the entire issue was a question of timing, “timing has to do with when the particular country is ready for that decision, economically, politically and socially. So that is the whole thing.”
He stated that while Hon. Vanterpool suggested that there should be a start to the conversation, the reality is that the conversation has been ongoing. The Premier added and the Territory, by virtue of the Deputy Premier’s participation in discussions with the UN committee on de-colonization, was up to date on the said topic.
“The matter of when, that is something that has to be decided. As I said it has to depend on when the country is ready for such a move,” he added. He repeated that he was not in favour of independence for the Territory at this time.
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28 Responses to “Should the Premier 'bell those cats'?”
Seem you love promises what Ralphie was given or you mis hand outs like oooooo you all a self sintered its not about you get that it's about the better mint of our country
There are two old sayings that we should always remember: "Great minds think alike" and “fools seldom differ." Think about the latter and you will understand the value of dissenting voices. There is a big difference between how a government acts and what individual members of that government say. Laws are passed based on unanimous consent of sitting members. There is hardly ever a time when all members agree on something but that does not prevent it from going into effect. Honorable Fahie was the lone dissenting voice on the BiWater contract and that did not stop it from taking effect. We need to stop prating nonsense about what is being done when half the times we don't even understand the issues. We hear something and run with it as if it were our own opinion when we don't have a clue.
Ministers Walwyn, Vanterpool or any other member of government do not have to be in total agreement with the Premier but they must respect their opinions just like they must respect his.