UK plans to ‘upload’ money from VI - Cromwell Smith
Speaking on the Umoja show, aired last evening, January 10, 2013 Mr Wheatley opined, “We cannot build the tourism industry without building Virgin Islanders, private industry is what’s going to move the tourism industry forward, it’s not going to be the Tourist Board or the government that’s going to move Tourism forward…”
He said that these entities can try to do things to help facilitate private industry but the ‘movers and shakers’, he contended, would be the airlines, hotels, tour operators, restaurants and store owners. “If we don’t get Virgin Islanders involved in that,” he noted, “all we’re going to get is a little bit of tax money from some of these ‘big guys’… and we may not even get the jobs.”
“That is the plan,” Mr Smith said, “the plan is for England to be uploading money out of the BVI… they want to come in here and whatever we have to spend… they’re coming to take control of our resources and to suck some of the money out of the Territory, that’s their plan…”
He added that the White Paper, the British passport and other similar documents are designed to “bring us under the greater control [of the UK], instead of having more autonomy we are going to find that we have less autonomy and you are going to find that we are soon going to become the United Kingdom Virgin Islands… just like there is a United States Virgin Islands… and all that goes with it.”
Mr Smith felt that it was essential to impress upon our legislative representatives that they need to be looking out for the interests of locals; foremost of which was the ability to capture “some of the tourist dollars when they enter the Territory”.
He felt it would almost equate to being ‘the enemy of your people’ in a situation where the Tourist Board expends a certain sum of money towards promoting the Virgin Islands and a foreign company is introduced to capture the revenue that they eventually bring.
“You’re spending our tax dollars to promote our country to bring tourists with money into the Territory and when they come into the Territory, you allow somebody to come from the United States or Europe to build a store to capture that money – that’s like you paying for an advertisement [on a radio station] for your business and when the people come to go to your business, you take them and give them to another business.” The host described this as unacceptable behaviour.
A parallel was drawn by his co-host, Mr Wheatley, when he examined the situation that prevailed with oil in Nigeria. He spoke of the violent acts and kidnapping that was being committed and reasoned that it resulted from the lack of jobs, proper schools, hospitals and viable opportunities provided to locals in Nigeria despite the glut of oil coming out of the Niger delta.
He felt that the only thing that Virgin Islanders can say they were benefiting from was the actual service being provided. “We have to have a better standard than that…” Mr Wheatley said.
Mr Smith added that VIslanders approach development and foreign investment from a position of weakness and there was a feeling that locals couldn’t do without it or do some of the same things for themselves, “[We think that] without these people we would die, without this investment we would die and that is not the case.” he said.
He further suggested that there was a time when VIslanders were in that position – when there was land and no capital, no money and limited education – but all of this has since changed. “We have land money and education,” he said, “so our position has to change and our policies have to change.”
The host expressed pleasure at Dr. the Hon. Kedrick Pickering’s proclamation in the House of Assembly about developments in the fishing industry and felt it would be a tremendous asset in terms of economic security. “We would have three legs of a stool instead of a stool with two legs,” he said, seemingly alluding to the industry’s addition to the already familiar pillars of financial services and tourism in the Territory.
He described the financial services sector as behaving like ‘monarchs of all they survey’ and acting as if they were dictating policy to the government because of their sixty-five percent contribution to the national budget.
“I’m looking to the fishing industry to cut down some of that power,” he said. He expressed a concern though, that North Americans and Europeans may similarly be placed in control of the fishing industry someday and thus ensuring that locals will still be in that same position.
Co-host, Mr Wheatley, added that Minister for overseas Territories, Hon. Mark Simmonds MP had stated that with the signing of the Protocols for Effective Fiscal Management, there was an opportunity now for UK businesses to invest in the Virgin Islands. He said that reading the White Paper, there was also mention of the fishing industry as a potential for UK businesses to invest in and these things scared him.
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28 Responses to “UK plans to ‘upload’ money from VI - Cromwell Smith ”
It is ONLY the Education of our people that will be the long-term solution to our downward spiral we now face!!!!
Foreign investment is welcomed but have to be careful with the issue of 'buying power'. Don't want us locals to be pushed completely out of the competition due to lack of dollars. What do we have however is land and what will we do to compete with foreign investment? Sell land to gain cash.
Watch the creep up VI people! Keep aware of the underhanded actions of some in our community and from afar.
Watch what creep up? A BVIslander's worst nightmare is their OWN PEOPLE! From on the job, in a Government Office, in a Bank. It's always the same! It's never an expat keeping you back. You're on the job it's locals carrying news on you and trying to keep you back. You apply to Trade or Government agency for an approval, again, another local in there keeping you back, your stuff lost, misplaced, never to be found. You go to the bank for financing, again, a local keeping you down. Creep up? It's here! It's US! We hate eachother so much that's why others can come in under the radar and be successful. Stop the blaming and look within. Until we unite all this talk is cheap! The same ones shouting white man this and that. The first white man with a briefcase and suit and tie walk up to them with a sweet deal, they done grease up ready for the shaft without checking the fineprint. Don't mind them. They only shout local when it benefits them. If they get a deal underneath, they long gone. You not fooling this local black boy here. An expat has NEVER done me anything in this country, it's always a local trying to keep you back. Look at the Ferry situation? Again, locals against locals with no end in sight. Do you see the expat charter companies, bars, restaurants doing that? NO, you see them working together and everybody profit. Learn from them and stop complaining. This is our country, stop with the blame game and petty $#!t. We don't like to see each other get anything and until that changes, we will have these faux freedom fighters parading, using historic quotes and thesaurus jargon to appear smart when they're talking a bathpan full of $#!t!
The current group in power want to control and take money more than anyone from outside.
I do not see anywhere in my post where I am blaming anyone! There was an analogy of USVI and BVI and what's happening in USVI and for us in the BVI to be careful. If you have seen some of the documentation I have been privy to you would realize that the UK has been on a quest since the 80's. Some of this quest is coming to being by their white paper documents over the past years. So I stand by my comment of 'Watch the creep up VI people'.
Lord man you funny! You got me rollin wid laff right now meson. :)
What have they done for the BVI collectively? NOT A DAMN THING EXCEPT COMPLAIN!!!!!! They are always on this Slave Ship bs!! Move to Africa already. Nothing is wrong with knowing your History and learning from it. We all should know these things! This is just sickening to read negative each day coming form these two. Natalio knows better but has somehow gotten caught up in this slave minded BS! Please give solutions and stop the "White man is coming to get us!" foolishness. This is our country and we need to focus on building it, not on sounding the alarm and scaring people. You all are sounding like Pastors now! What are your suggestions? Get BVIslanders involved, that's all I'm hearing. Where are BVIslanders getting their money from? Do some research and tell me. The richest locals we have here are the landlords of Commercial Buildings. I guess you will tell me only black locals are renting them right? And only black locals are living in our apartments, giving us equity, good credit and access to loan facilities right? Get off it guys, you are sickening. You are no examples to follow as you have no record of accomplishing anything in the BVI. You just get on the airwaves and speak a bunch of rubbish. Stop trying to be Noel Lloyd and Malcolm X, you will never be. Talk sense or shut up!
I understand wanting to have the territory move ahead on its own and be in charge, but outside involvement is inevitable. Where I have a problem is that rich business people are trying so hard to copy and compete with big cities they are forgetting about the value of the natural environment and what they are trying to sell. If fishing is to be promoted- let's remember that in the ecological chain, mangroves and seagrapes are needed for fish nurseries to grow the fish! But these areas are being threatened by locals who want resorts. So who wins? Where are the balance and choices?
Fishing to add a 3rd leg to the economy? What? You didn't notice that the seas done fish out already not just here but all over the world. The ocean is in collapse. and what you want to do? Catch 10 ton of BVI fish a day for export? Export siguatera? Just because the ancestors relied on fishing does not mean it's a serious economic option for this booming economy.
Yes, booming. This is one of the richest countries in the world and all you people can do is moan and gripe about outsiders TAKING from we? TAKING? If we didn't had no outsiders here we wouldn't be driving big SUV and talking cell phone and cable and 'what you want for lunch?' We'd be waking up early and walking to the terraces still to scratch out yam and corn.
The problem is what Nonsense said. These islands have become ungovernable because of greed among us local people. Too many people needing favors and contracts, so to keep them sweet government divide up the serious work and hand it out to all kind of people. Not the best value for money people, just old friends, allies, family members. All the while the same big man trying to stop the next man from getting ahead because he want it all for he self. And look how we got roads like donkey track, a town smelling of sewage, stupidness buildings everywhere you look, sidewalks to nowhere, half build hospital. It is WE who messing up our place and until we stop climbing over each other for every scrap of cash, the nation as a whole going keep going backwards. NPD, VIP I don't care. We need people like Natalio to offer real solutions and real hope for our future, not this kind of petty they coming-for-we nonsense.
As for the splitting up of contracts, I think it is a very good idea and ensures that many people (as long as they are qualified) benefit from taxpayers money. You see it as "favors", I see it as stimulating the economy. Why should 1 company get a big $300k contract, hire a bunch of expats just so the expats send their money home and one man alone benefits? Break that contract into 6 pieces of $50k and 6 people benefit! More of the money stays here! The government doesn't have to spend any extra money, get the same job done and the economy is stimulated.
Stop hating on those contractors who get jobs. Many get 1 job every 3 or 4 years. Yes I know there are some leeches who seem to be getting contracts over and over! Those are ridiculous. But for the most part, the system works.
That's the sound of more hot air escaping from this windbag they call Cromwell, unoja, edjo or whatever he feel like calling himself today. Uploading money.. puleease!