Controversial Berthing Agreement was not registered as at 2 pm today!
When contacted by Virgin Islands News Online, a source said the document was being processed and was at the time awaiting approval prior to being made available for release.
What happened after the leak on VINO
After the story with contract details was firstly and accurately broken by Virgin Islands News Online on February 4, 2014, it set off a flurry of back and forth and embarrassing infighting between the BVI Ports Authority boss Claude Skelton-Cline and the Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool.
At one time the Ports Authority through a February 4, 2014 press statement said the document will not be released because of confidential items agreed with the cruise lines.
However, subject Minister for the Ports Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool threw cold water on that press statement and demanded that it be released in his own statement of February 5, 2014.
Is there tension in the NDP camp over leak document?
This news site's traditional National Democratic Party (NDP) sources well placed inside the regime have told us that the leaked document on the Cruise Line agreement has caused a big debate over whether the document should be released to the public and has allegedly led to much ‘trouble in the camp’.
The day after the story was broken by this news site we solicited a comment from the Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool. However we were told at the time [February 5, 2014] that he was busy in a meeting and also that the Acting Permanent Secretary Anthony S. McMaster was out of office.
The same day we also made an attempt to get a comment from the Leader of Government Business Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith to get his take on the embarrassing infighting by his Administration and whether he could step in and be the referee between the Ports Authority’s ‘big man’ Claude Skelton-Cline and his very own Minister Vanterpool. However we were advised that the Premier will be making his own statement by the end of the same day.
To date nothing has been forthcoming from the NDP Leader Premier Dr. Smith on the controversy.
Heads may roll?
One of the NDP’s sources reported that even in the Cabinet meeting of February 5, 2014 there was allegedly tension over the leaked cruise line agreement and one member reportedly suggested that “someone needs to be fired.”
According to our NDP traditional source who has always been accurate, Premier Smith had brought out his tough side once again in the meeting as, “the battle was all about Mark (Hon Vanterpool) and Cline (Managing Director)” it was alleged.
In giving a personal opinion our source said that when carefully examined the statement put out by Skelton-Cline was accurate in principle. “The problems seem to have been that Mr. Vanterpool either did not carefully read the agreement or if he did he honestly had a plan that would have allowed him to eventually register the document and that’s why he made that statement at the signing but the mistake was that there was obviously no communication with Mark and Cline, they are not knocking heads,” opined our source.
The NDP source also confirmed that after the signing of the agreement on January 17, 2014 when Hon. Vanterpool told the media that the document will be released the MD Skelton-Cline had advised him that he had misspoken and brought the confidential clause issues to his attention.
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20 Responses to “Controversial Berthing Agreement was not registered as at 2 pm today!”
So former PS leak Ralphie and now Orlando Magic basket ball bounce back on he!
Some of them their behavior and bad habits they display around the tourist are appalling. When government introduced a uniform or a license plate they objected. They object to everything.
The BVI and the world are changing as the power of the day is no longer in the hands of government but is in the hands of money, power or unity among groups and the taxi men has neither because they lack unity. They might feel that they can vote out the politicians.
But they will realize sooner or later the power or problem is not in the hands of the government but in those who go to them with at least two of the three powers I described. Because get what 99% of the governments around the world including ours are broke.