No Shame – Gov’t urged to swiftly restore HoA building

The hurricane-damaged building that houses the High Court and the House of Assembly in Road Town.

The Government is being called upon to swiftly restore the territory’s legislative building which has been left in partial ruin since Hurricane Irma struck the territory more than two months ago.

Former Managing Director of the BVI Ports Authority, Claude Skelton Cline made the call during his ‘Honestly Speaking’ radio show last evening. He said the House of Assembly building in Road Town is much too important to be left in such state.

The windows on the top floor of the building have been left bare since Hurricane Irma caused extensive damage to it, while the doors and windows on the ground floor have been sealed off with plywood. The government-used building is now described as an eyesore.

“I want to encourage the Government, right in the middle of town is the House of Assembly (HoA). Our HoA remains in disrepair for more than two months.”

“No windows, no doors, just wide open. There have finally been some boards on the bottom section, none on the top section,” Cline lamented.

Noting that the building is a symbol of pride for the territory, he said the British Virgin Islands should not abandon its pride.

“Good people, we can’t lose our sense of pride and have no sense of shame. This is our House of Assembly.”

“We are up, we are functioning. That House needs to be restored straightway. We need to see our elected officials in that house doing business. The gallery needs to be available so persons can come and hear for themselves what is happening in our HoA,” Cline urged.

The building is home to two major government-run operations – High Court proceedings, and parliament.

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