‘The blows were too much for him’ – Hon Myron V. Walwyn
He was speaking on Tuesday July 14, 2015 during the debate on the Tourist Duty Free System Act of 2015 in the Second Sitting of the First Session of the Third House of Assembly.
Referring to Hon Vanterpool, Hon Walwyn said, “Minister you have been vindicated over and over and over again because I remember in this House the blows you took for this cruise ship [port] development.”
“When they raked him over the coals I felt sorry for him. I used to have to carry him for a lil drink there sometimes up in the lil bar. I won’t say where it is but we will go there and we would cool off. He couldn’t say some of the things in the House that he wanted to say so he used to say them to me so I used to sit down and listen to him say those things to me because he had to get them off his chest,” said Hon Walwyn.
He said that what the Minister has done over the past three and a half years is nothing short of a miracle.
“When you see the whole transformation of the cruise ship industry before our very eyes in three and a half years and that is magnificent,” he said.
The Opposition Virgin Islands Party has been pounding away on the cruise pier throughout the life of the project based on findings of the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee which detailed several issues of concern and asked for a deeper probe into some of them.
Public Accounts Committee's findings
In the summary report on page 32, 8 the Public Accounts Committee recommended that the Governor appoints a Commission of Inquiry to examine the propriety of the process through which the Cruise Ship Port Development was handled, in the view of the evidence gathered during the Public Accounts Committee Process which clearly show;
i. Disregard for public process in the procurement of a major public project;
ii. Absence of transparency in the handling of the public business;
iii. Engagement of companies, consultants and individuals without sourcing alternatives;
iv. Consistent and ongoing association between parties representing the Government side and the contractors through processes that were deficient in achieving any positive public purpose yet incurring ongoing and unjustified cost to the public purse.
The PAC reports also made allegations of the breaking of laws of the Virgin Islands in which it stated on page 31, 1 in the summary that “the government spent two years and countless resources engaging processes that were contrary to Public Financial Management Regulations, in contravention of the BVI Ports Authority Act, non-transparent and untenable.”
Auditor General's Report
The Auditor General's Report on the Ports Development Project unearthed corruption, conflict of interest, disregard for the laws of the Virgin Islands, unfair practices, undue influence in favour of one developer, disregard for the established tendering process and that no one was looking out for the interest of the people and taxpayers of the Virgin Islands, putting the people at a disadvantage.
21 Responses to “‘The blows were too much for him’ – Hon Myron V. Walwyn”
Hon Walwyn, the lead vote getter in the last election, MEC and an attorney, had the ability to support Mark in the Port Pier project without making look like a weakling. Though the Port Pier project process was handled poorly, it is a vital project inspite of its challenges. Now, should we wonder if the challenges is due to strength or lack of, of the MCW? The MEC comments may or may not have been well intended but they did not do Mark any favors. They make him come across with maudlinness. Who is next?