VIP did it too! Premier Smith on justifying purchase of new luxury vehicle
He was speaking today February 10, 2016 at a one on one media conference held at the Central Administration Complex during which he dealt primarily with issues related to the 2016 budget.
This information was made public following a question in the House of Assembly on February 4, 2016 posed by senior Opposition Member Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) to Premier Smith. They were at the time in the Sixth Sitting of the First Session of the Third House of Assembly.
“In 2006 when we came into office the first time, we bought a vehicle – an Escalade – and at that time the cost of a vehicle was $70,000. And the cost of other vehicles just three years after that when the Government changed, the [VIP] Government also bought a new vehicle for the then Premier [Honourable Ralph T. O'Neal OBE],” the Premier said during today's press conference.
According to him, the other Ministers of Government at the time also bought vehicles all of them costing in that region.
He said that in 2011 he decided that he will continue to use the vehicle purchased for Honourable O'Neal in the interest of savings. “And I did that for the entire term and when there were a new set of elections then it was decided that a new vehicle should be bought for the Premier,” he said.
“The cost of this vehicle is about $90,000 and when you compare $70,000 or $75,000 eight years ago, the cost is [reasonable],” he said.
He cited an example where four years ago the Government purchased a new vehicle for the then Governor William Boyd McCleary costing about $110,000. He said too that Government Ministers at the time all drove vehicles costing over $100,000.
“If you speak to the car dealers they will tell you that that is the kind of value for those midrange vehicles. What I'm saying is that we are being prudent. We did not purchase a vehicle after we got elected the first time,” he said.
The Premier added that his Ministers did not purchase vehicles for the Ministers as they drive their own vehicles.
“So it is interesting that this, which is as far as I am concerned a non-issue, has become an issue. As you know I live a very simple life. I drive my own car on weekends and at nights. I don't have any high level of security and outriders like they do in other Caribbean countries,” he said.
“It makes me question why did this issue come up just when I am giving the budget address,” he said.
Persons have flooded our newsroom with calls, emails and WhatsApp messages describing the decision to purchase the luxury vehicle as a callous one and one which demonstrates that the NDP Government is not looking out for the smaller man.
Many have also made their disagreement with the purchase of the vehicle known on social media. Many argue that contractors, vendors and musicians are owed money for months and schools cannot get basic supplies, yet the Government has seen it prudent to undertake such an expense at this time.
There are some persons, however, who have no issue with the Premier getting such an expensive vehicle.
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54 Responses to “VIP did it too! Premier Smith on justifying purchase of new luxury vehicle”
I just so sick of all aya now mison.Who ready to pull a I**S?
Sorry, I do not buy your argument. Does the Premier need a $90,000 vehicle to get from his house to the Central Administration building? Does he need such a vehicle to get to West End or Beef Island? Similar questions could be asked of the Governors' need for such a pricy vehicle living already in luxury in Government House.
As far as I am concerned, this is wasteful spending, and tax payers have a right to be outraged at the cost of the vehicle since they are footing the bill?
The bottom line for me is this: Who really needs a $90,000 - $100,000 car to drive around Tortola? It's one thing to use your own money to show off, but it's another to use taxpayers money when you are raising taxes on them to generate revenues.
This looks and smells bad no matter how you slice it Mr. Premier. And the fact that the VIP did it is no excuse. The public's money should be spend with more due care. The criticism against your government Mr. Premier for excessive spending is well deserved.
Premiere, how could you not find this despicable at all? We're two months into the year and only now the budget for this year is coming out! Not only that but it's the highest budget in our history and the increase in taxes can't be explained our justified. There's corruption left and right and investigations are either not being launched or when they are they yield no result. Everyone is asking, "where is the money going? Where is our country going?" You lied about money from the get-go and you're still lying now. And it seems you can't even stop. Everyone is just pissed off and tired of everything and your comeback is something a preschooler can think of?
If this is the best we can expect, I swear next election I'm going to round up all my infant cousins and have them start a party and vote for them because at least then, they'll be meeting my expectations in intelligence.
Premiere, I used to have respect for you. I learnt it from older people in my family who remembered you as a doctor. I remember seeing you around town and at people's funerals when I was a child and I used to think you were a man who cared but now it doesn't seem so at all. Now, you're just sickening to me.
We need to stop this "He did it first" mentality between our two parties. It's getting us no where and the people are suffering in the meanwhile. No one feels they have to do better because they don't think they're the worst. It's like no one has any morals or integrity anymore and it's just sickening. Literally, sickening.
Here's what I suggest:
Stop buying cars for politicians. Create a fund for government transportation and buy vehicles with that money. Lease the vehicles to the politicians when they're in power and have them return them when they're out of power. Make the cars the politicians drive public property just like how the ambulance and police cars are public property and have it so that politicians have to pay for damages (if the vehicles are damaged) out of their own pocket, not the tax payers money. Also, have politicians publish budgets available for the public to see. You're all public servants and we the people deserve to know if you're living outside your means because if it's not coming from you it's coming from us. We the people work too hard to see our money being frivolously spent.
Premiere, even if you did buy your car with your own money, you have to understand how the average civilian feels right now. Some of use are barely making ends meet and we're looking at what the government is doing so we can try to plan ahead financially. When we get told there's no money to fix water mains or roads so taxes will increase then later on see millions of dollars pouring into unfinished projects thus doubling and quadrupling their estimated budgets, or seeing you driving an expensive luxury car, that creates dissonance and it infuriates people.
Premiere, all my life, I have been imagining my life in the VI. Here is where I was born and here is where I wanted to be married and have my children born. Here is where I wanted to build my house and have a career. Whenever I'm away from the VI, I tell people when I'm from with pride. I show them pictures and I talk about my childhood and the people here and I smile at their envy but seeing all this and trying to imagine the future... it scares me sometimes. It makes me feel as though I'm better off somewhere else because at least then when I'm being abused and lied to there, it's not my own. It's not from people from whom I expected more. At least then I don't have struggle with coming to terms with the lost of the 'what was' and the beautiful 'could have beens' as well as the horrifying 'what is.'
suffering the poor man..
and the poor man LIKE IT SO ...
We must take pride in our highest office. We can't be seen our premier driving around in a tayota with foreign dignitaries and leaders when they visit the bvi.