VI ‘has not seen a visionary leader since late H. Lavity Stoutt’- Skelton-Cline
During a special edition of Honestly Speaking on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, themed ‘Mindset Matters, Finding Solutions’, Skelton-Cliine said he recently rewatched the funeral service of the late H. Lavity Stoutt, the VI’s first Chief Minister in its entirety.
“I was struck that since 1995, the truth is, this country [has] not seen a visionary leader since the late Lavity Stoutt.”
The late H. Lavity Stoutt is credited not just as a pioneer Virgin Islander, but also as the visionary whose vision helped shape the future of the VI.
The 31st National Wreath Laying Ceremony at Cappoon’s Bay Cemetery on March 9, 2026, to honour the late Hon. H. Lavity Stoutt.
A false state of comfort
“It begs to question, it’s a sobering thought, when you think of all the things that’s been built from the college, to social security, to the road that comes across the West, all into town, to what would have been secondary schools…the start of the Virgin Islands Party in 1971. All this under the leadership of Honourable Lavity Stoutt,” Skelton-Cline added.
He also warned that if the past is not remembered, there will be no resistance.
“If you don’t know from whence you come, and who are some of the persons that helped us to get to where we are. When we disremember, then we no longer resist, and we are lulled into a false state of comfort and superficial convenience, and I’m afraid that that is a part of where we are today.”
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24 Responses to “VI ‘has not seen a visionary leader since late H. Lavity Stoutt’- Skelton-Cline”
It is not fair how a lot of credit has been given to HL when it goes good and when it goes badly, others take the blame. There have been some forward-thinking politicians since HL, but we, the people, chose the wrong people, and today we are answering for it. I don't understand how the people who worked with HL in the past, today have made such a mess of things, scandal upon scandal.
Looking around today, are we building on the foundation that he laid? Given our resources now per annum, are we carrying this country forward as he would have, as a founder of the VIP or just riding the VIP wave to win and then satisfying our own selfish agendas?
I have no idea what is meant by "he met a lot of money" in your blog, but nowadays we have a "helluva lot of money", and are we building a Nation with it? Are we maintaining what we met? In H.L. Stoutt's time he built an administration building, we can't repair it now since 2017. Our electrical grid to all villages was built in his time, we have not put one area underground and truly updated. Water, etc, well, nothing needs to be said there.
What do we do, we collect money every year to pay bills: High travel bills, high party bills, high payroll bills, hella high rent bills, high electricity bills, high medical bills, high everything. Every household knows that you can't work to just pay bills. You have to save a little, invest a little so that you can survive later on. We are now raising taxes on persons, and borrowing money to pay salaries and yearly maintenance. We can't seem to know, with the lead of the Premier and the FS, what to build, what to fix, where to cut back and where to invest for the years to come so that we can pay high, high retirement costs and everything else. With nothing coming from anywhere else but ourselves, we may soon run out of mone. So do we continue to live month to month like everybody else with a budget, a historical budget of $500 million plus SAPS?
Hon. H.L. Stoutt would not have slept because of all the wonderful things he could do for his country with that.
They all had ideas, that brought this country into the place of what it is today!
You can't expect any one leader, to think of all of the necessary initiatives a country needs, in any given moment!
Challenges arises, and any leader of the day, will rise to address such challenges!
I realize that Mr. Skelley,, is about gaining brownie points on this topic!
But why?
Should the country look to him, as the future visionary,that it needs?
Nevertheless, in Stoutte’s early years as Chief Minister his forceful leadership lags in regards to Kenneth Bates Hill fiasco and giveaway of Wickham’s Cay and 3/4 of Anegada. If it were not for the courageous , persistent fight, protest, advocacy, agitation, sacrifice, etc, both Wickham’s and the lion share of Anegada would have fallen out of Virgin Islanders hand. Both Wickham Cay and Anegada would a country within a country. At these locations, Virgin Islanders’ role would have been hewers of wood and carriers of water.
Moreover, the question is where have all the leaders gone..It seems that due to dependency and political patronage, people are using the public treasury as a passport to private..partisan politics prevents the pillage of the treasury. Vision requires, passion,,purpose, patriotism,country first over politics, etc.