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Biwater, roundabout stoplights were collective VIP decisions, not just Fraser

Keith Flax

Former Speaker of the House of Assembly Keith Flax has moved to defend Progressives United Chairman, Julian Fraser, in relation to the reportedly disastrous Biwater deal and the traffic lights that were once mounted at the roundabout in Road Town.

These controversial projects happened under Fraser’s portfolio when he was a member of a Virgin Islands Party government between 2007 and 2011.

Speaking at a campaign launch for Progressives United on Friday, Flax said Fraser did not decide on the aforesaid projects on his own.

“It wasn’t his decison alone putting those stoplights. It was a collective decision of Cabinet. It was also a collective decison of the Biwater agreement. But only because it fell under his ministry why they tried to cut his throat. But ladies and gentlemen, this man is a good man, this team (Progressives United) is a good team,” Flax said.

The former House of Assembly Speaker further argued that he has seen firsthand that traffic lights at roundabouts work well in other parts of the world and named regions such as Africa and Europe.

“I have travelled extensively and somewhere between 2007 and 2011 I was attending a confernce in Kenya and while I was on my way to the confernece centre, my wife was with me an she said: ‘Here’s a roundabout with stoplights and its working perfectly’. I said, ‘of course’. There is also another roundabout very close to Heathrow Airport in London and it works perfectly but yet they tried to kill Honourable Fraser for those stoplights.”

People pretending that the party does not exist

Fraser, in the meantime, was one of four candidates introduced under Progressives United. The political organisation will be introducing more candidates ‘soon’, party officials have said.

Fraser, a perceived underdog, asserted himself and the party as viable contenders for the upcoming elections.

“Everybody pretends we do not exist because we haven’t launched. So there is no denying that we exist now,” he said.

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28 Comments

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  1. Eagle eye says:

    Y’all still stuck in your ignorance its a Shame.there is 5 incoming traffic lanes to the roundabout and it was clearly not working in the best interest of the country.Fraser was asked to removed them after they failed but refused with his big ego.in the bi-water contract there is to much bad deals in it,simple.

    Like 16
    Dislike 8
    • Not2Sure says:

      I am guessing on Fraser’s iPod he has Shaggy singing “It Wasn’t Me”.

      Like 9
      Dislike 2
      • @Backward< says:

        Dear Mister minster for D-, unlike Fraser you the one known for using “It wasn’t me” to your advantage.
        I am not a friend or Fan of the man, but he stood by the decisions made by the entire Failed VIP Party. You never leave the party, you stood by their side in all the wrongs they were doing because you are power hungry and wanted to lead to have your way with the country’s finance.
        You stood with them for many years of corruption: Don’t forget 6mill on a Green House,
        The Purcell Ghut, the same sewage pumps in Cane Garden Bay that is polluting our beaches for years enriching you’re At Large member. You only see “Green” The money in your pocket.

  2. the watcher says:

    Really….? There are some working traffic lights in Africa so let’s elect Mr. Fraser..? He is clearly a great visionary.

    Like 7
    Dislike 4
  3. It's About Time says:

    Finally, someone have the guts to standup for what is right. The VIP is pretending they had nothing to do with those projects. Fahie himself have the nerve to attack Skelton about sitting with the NDP and not leaving, at least Fraser and Ronnie walk away from the corruption. Fahie refuse to leave the VIP because he too is a big part … This Virgin Island is in a mess with both or these major parties who are in power. They just can’t go for two terms without putting their hands in the cookie jar. As the song says, “The jar ain’t leaking but there’s cookies missing” Who Put this country in this crisis?

    Like 11
    Dislike 3
  4. say hello says:

    Don’t be ungrateful…Fraser brought us to the 21st century with stoplights, water, sewage plants, cellphones, sidewalks, airport expansion, reservoirs and the list goes on and on

    Like 7
    Dislike 18
  5. DEAD ON ARRIVAL says:

    NUFF SAID

  6. Smhh says:

    They just shot their self in the foot before launching properly. Keith Flax, Julian Fraser, Vincent Scatliffe were the same individuals that made up the same VIP administration that made those mistakes. Plus it was Fraser that took action when he was acting premier at the time when Ralph went overseas and made these decisions without advice and is now casting blame on a party. Once a part of the problem will always be a part of the problem. Just state issues and your stance to fix it rather than casting blame on different parties to make yourselves look like Saints.

    Like 16
    Dislike 1
  7. Haha says:

    The one thing I can say that Fraser was responsible for that helped everyone was the Telecommunications. Those prices were ridiculously high before Digicel came and everybody was saying it would be the end of the world because of the population. 25 cents per text and 75 cents for incoming and outgoing calls. The only thing that end was the high prices for consumers and profits for the manipulators.

    Like 13
  8. Really? says:

    Listen… Fraser needs to “come again” because this is a one man party as three on his candidates can make one. Then he can speak to issues that a competent team can solve. We need people that can hit the ground running, especially with this economic substance act.

    Like 6
    Dislike 2
  9. Reply says:

    This is so typical of the Frasier camp ever since I start following him. Never accepting responsibility for anything. Always blaming everyone else and their mother rather than himself.

    A strong leader first should try not to make mistakes, but as humans with no one being perfect mistakes will be made.

    When that happens, such leaders should have the courage and honesty to say I messed up, and if I had to do it again, I would have done things differently, but to play the blame game or run from accountability is cowardice and wrong.

    Mr. Frasier needs to man up and accept responsibility for his past actions once and for all and stop blaming others.

    I don’t care if he claims he made bad decisions in cohort with others or not. The fact that he was a part of bad decision making is enough for me to hold him accountable for it. It does not absolve him of any responsibility.

    If two robbers went into a store to steal, with one driving the get away car, while the other held up the store clerk and took the loot, they are both equally guilty.

    Man up Mr. Frasier, and stop passing the buck.

    Like 18
  10. LOL says:

    The funniest part about the round-about lights is that the very contractor himself warned against it. Imagine someone set to make good money from a project and telling you flat out, the way you are approaching it will not work. Nobody said stop lights can’t work at a round-about. The stop lights were NOT the right solution for OUR ROUNDABOUT! There are roundabouts around the world with many lanes and the circle huge, with varying flows so depending on what you’re trying to achieve in those instances the lights may work. The contractor said the roundabout here would either have to be shrunken drastically or removed all together for the concept to work and they didn’t listen. Same as the vagina shaped planter/calmer that was placed in the road up by the airport to stop drag racing. Fraser has no shame!

    Like 11
    Dislike 1
  11. Ausar says:

    I, too, was in support of the traffic lights around the ’round-a-bout. But boy, was I chewed up, on anothe online blog for giving support to such an initiative years ago.

    Of course there are so many global locales that share similar enhancements.

    That the untraveled and the unlearned blogged to the hilt to get those enhancements removed, suggests to me, why infrastructural development remains a perpetual and continual state of elemental development!

  12. ??? says:

    Everybody has their nightmares

    Smith – $7.2m plane
    Fraser – BiWater, roundabout streetlights
    Ronnie – $65m hospital
    Myron – High School wall, war with the gov auditor
    Andrew – drag racing study

    But BiWater is the worst deal made in the BVI.

    • O says:

      Are you serious. No evidence of a plane-your tax money flew by-no benefit. The hospital right in front your eyes-benefit. No vehicle them drag and take the money with them-no benefit. BiWater brought water and sewerage treatment plant from s-**t dumping straight in the sea-benefit. High School wall-still waiting to see the true benefit but the car wash has a good spot. No the airplane was the worst deal made in the BVI. Everything else we seeing, they might have been some high costs but we seeing the. We are waiting on the airplane and the drag race study. Bring them because election right around the corner.

      • ??? says:

        Hospital is there but it was supposed to cost $65m, it ended up over $100m. What happened? Scope change or cost overrun?

        Biwater is there but at a high cost of water and govt is paying the electricity bill. Biwater gets paid whether the water is used or not.

        • Exactly says:

          Them there. You see them too. Talk about the deals bad or good but them there. You really believe the other companies paying the electricity bills for government? Think think

  13. wow says:

    what a heavy load… p***y in the road.
    well me boy…don’t run her down…put one for the Tourists in Road Town.

  14. Look who is talking says:

    I say hats off to these 21 century BVI politicians. I do not believe what I am hearing. Keith saying Frazer is a good man and the team is a good team?? Well, since frazer is a good man with a good team, why did he Keith back out from running with Frazer? Wasn’t he suppose to be a candidate on the team??

    Well me buoy!!!!

  15. Diaspora says:

    Traffic signals are used at and functional at roundabouts but are not common place. The value of roundabouts is to improve traffic flow relative to traffic signals. Crosswalks and other pedestrians crossings close to roundabouts can slow traffic flow around them. The design and installation of traffic lights at the roundabout was clearly ineffective. Anyway, that is water under the bridge.

    The BiWater project was a controversial capital project, especially among NDP members. They marched, protested and rallied over it. They used it as a campaign plank in two elections and won. Elected, they slow work their efforts to improve the system/service. But, of late, the silence is deafening; those that opposed Biwater are now as quiet as a church mouses. Why?

    Could the silence be attributed to the sale of Biwater to Seven Seas, a company that a local billionaire has an interest in?Ever since the sale, the criticism went silent. Did the system heal/fix itself? Anyway, this too is water under bridge. Though the past may be relevant, the focus must be on the present and the future.

    What is PU plan of action to improve the quality of life and standard of living of residents? What is its plan to advance the progress of the country? The PU is advocating to providing a number of free services, ie, education, legal services, transportation………etc. As others have asked, how is PU intended to pay for them?

  16. White Ting. says:

    I have travelled extensively as well this traffic lights you talk about in London service a roundabout with at least 4/5 lanes of traffic with at least 3/4 exits. It’s practical and needed in this instance not the 1 lane of traffic at the roundabout in town. Clearly a blind man could have seen it would have created a traffic nightmare and a bottleneck.

  17. strupes says:

    FRAZER TRIED TO RECTIFY THE TRAFFIC WOES…..WHAT THE OTHERS DID?……NOTHING!

    Like 2
    Dislike 2
  18. Reasoning says:

    Plain and Simple, Hon. Frazer is self-destructing by his own Arrogance. Yes, he is an RA (registered architect) and a intelligent man but there is something to be said for Humility; the act of being humble; being aware and open to the fact that your ideas and, solutions aren’t necessarily the Best and only.
    Perhaps he’ll read this…and ?

  19. NOW NOW says:

    Keith Flax sir you are a good person but you really should not have remind people of these blunders, we also forgot about it, but if you are going to mention bi-water you should mention the fact the Ocean Conversion held the country at ransom ans turned off the plant but you guys don’t manipulate information to well at all.

    Secondly if you think those 2 issues are why people dislike that party leader you are sadly mistaken. Mr Fraser have been seen as arrogant and stubborn and because of that he is not well liked and therefore he’s polarizing. His nationalistic stands does not go down well with the changing voter demographic.

  20. 2Grand says:

    Mr Fraser needs to add wc (wild card) to his beloved RA title

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