Disingenuous! Penn slams gov’t for abolishing Trade Commission
Opposition Leader Marlon Penn has blasted the government’s decision to scrap the long-discussed Trade Commission, accusing the Virgin Islands Party administration of being “disingenuous” in its justification for abandoning the model.
Penn made the remarks in the House of Assembly during debate on the Consumer Protection Amendment Bill 2026, where the government confirmed it would move away from the independent commission structure in favour of a model centred on the minister and a business development manager.
Junior Minister for Trade, Lorna Smith, had argued that the proposed Trade Commission was an expensive and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, with projected operational costs exceeding $1.5 million annually.
But Penn, whose NDP administration had championed the commission, rejected the cost argument outright.
“I think it’s a disingenuous argument,” Penn told the House.
He argued that the government was already spending roughly the same amount on its existing trade apparatus, particularly through the Trade and Consumer Affairs Department, meaning the Trade Commission would not have created a significantly greater financial burden.
“The current trade budget is almost $1.5 million. That’s the current operational budget of the trade and policy division,” Penn said. “So the monies that were being spent on trade would have been consumed within the consumer protection space and the Trade Commission.”
Penn also suggested the government’s alternative would worsen bureaucracy rather than reduce it, pointing to long-standing complaints about delays in processing trade and business licences.
“You wouldn’t have the level of bureaucracy that you have now, which licences are taking forever to be processed,” he argued.
More pointedly, Penn warned that the government’s new model dangerously centralises power in the hands of the minister instead of creating an independent regulatory structure.
“Essentially, it’s about creating a model that centralises under a minister and a business development manager,” Penn said. “We’re consolidating the power within the hands of a minister.”
He said that the arrangement would leave too much authority with a single political office, from appointing boards to influencing dispute resolution and overseeing the public officer responsible for implementation. “There is no separation of powers. And that’s dangerous,” Penn warned. “We know what they say about absolute power.”
Penn also predicted the same governance model could soon be extended to the Investment Promotion Agency and the wider business licensing regime, further concentrating decision-making authority within Cabinet.
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All staged between natalio and Marlon to make Marlon look good to go UK constitutional review to read his script, they trying to upstage Myron effort at going after the issues.
We all know that this Crime was committed by one Person and we all know why. It was indeed Disingenuous!!!! 13 So-called Politicians and NOT ONE to Say, This is Wrong By The People? That is why I agree that All 13 MUST GO!!!!! They are Not for the People. They are For Themselves. Who aint Giving Themselves Land, Giving Themselves Houses among other Things. ALL 13 MUST GO!!!!! There is NONE To Say What We are doing is NOT Right!! This Current HOA needs a Thorough Clean UP!!!! We, The People have Lost Confidence in The Current Bunch. Better MUST Come.
Marlon you e lost the plot. What business experience have you? How many trade licenses have you obtained? I wager that if it were you in-charge you’d be happily co-signing this.
Not impressed by any stretch of the imagination.
Very lazy reporting
As did the report for the Airport. We haven’t seen that yet. Very lazy governing.
Shorty , is saying )> bro doh feel no way, we still together , but ah goh poh it you you diSSin we
The people olin my country are like simpleton and do not understand the runninhs of government hense yhese stupid statement. Thst is why the politicians jump
From
One side tonthe other and sto still see nothing wrong with dat
They abolished it because they do not understand the purpose of it. They do not understand the purpose because the original model was watered down. The original model was watered down because of the ignorance of the persons on the other side at the time, who tried to claim it and tried to replicate the model that they did not own and had insufficient knowledge of the ins and outs of it. They tried to claim as their own and replicate it because the creator of the model mother not from herrreee. The replication is so watered down and far from the original that it makes absolutely no sense and the Premier is right, based on that watered down model, it does not call for an entire Commission where there are existing frameworks in place to deal with that watered down version. No vision? Perish.