Easy fix! Lorna Smith pushes work permit processing solution
Former First Lady Lorna Smith has promised that the longstanding problem of protracted work permit and labour processing challenges facing employers and expatriates alike can be easily resolved once her National Democratic Party (NDP) is re-elected into government.
Speaking at a Fifth District Rally for NDP Territorial At-Large candidates, Smith argued that there is too much red tape surrounding the way business is done with government in the BVI.
“I want to also say that in developing a world class public service, we must also have a public service that builds and responds to the needs of the community,” Smith commented. “The business community; we have to get rid of the red tape. We have to cut it.”
She promised that an NDP government will create a one-stop-shop where persons can conduct business with government instead of being sent to various buildings to get things done.
“Instead of people having to go hither and yon’ to get a work permit — because labour is critical — we must create a facility where people can go to one place and get their business done quickly,” she added. “It is an easy fix, once we are committed to it, and NDP will make sure that this happens.”
Smith complained that the territory remains in a state of disarray with the threat of direct United Kingdom (UK) rule hovering over its head and argued that new leadership was needed. “We cannot allow this to continue,” she said. “Our country lacks leadership. It lacks experience. It lacks simple know-how. It lacks common sense, it lacks trust.”
NDP Chairman and Eighth District Representative, Marlon Penn, argued recently that the Trade Commission and National Business Bureau set up by the NDP have been designed to remove the dreaded bureaucracy and red tape that clouds the process of doing business with government, and promised to fully implement this once re-elected.
Back in 2021, the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) proposed a complete revamp of the immigration and labour processing system in the territory. However, the roll-out of that new arrangement suffered an enormous snafu as government workers complained bitterly about the quirks in the new system that prolonged the process even more significantly.
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The trade licensing system needs overhaul too , and a change of management. Ridiculous delays.
Bvi Islanders and belongers should not need a license to start a business.
Its commiunism.
Mrs. Creque-Smith please get a refund of your nomination fees. Your actions speak against you.
You spoke about wanting to hep the youths, but when you had a chance to show you genuinely care, you turned up your nose…..You will not be elected to serve I the 5th House of Assembly.
Lorna You had 33+ years in government to fix this. Stop trying to fool people with your new found solutions. Waste of time.
L–a you had your chance when you ran the Govt. for 8 years. Who you think you fooling now. Go siddung with your antics. You lack people skills and you only care about Lorna (period). Not a team player.
Well, you are clearly part of the problem as against part of the answer, Lorna is the only real candidate that can claim to be free of any suspicion under the COI. The central problem we have in this territory, is, in all reality, the people actually serve the government as against the reverse, which, is the correct democratic process. Lorna is offering a change this process, so, what have you got to lose, do you really think you can trust any other candidate after what the COI exposed.
Bright lady and free of suspicion when it comes to the COI, but hifuluting to the nth degree. She just feel a need to put ‘Honourable’ in front of her name. She is not at all connected with the people on any degree and pushes up her nose at us.
Great speaker, great experience, but have no idea how to connect and hence find out what the needs of the populous is. Will not work well with others either, so her party better get in and then Marlon will have to move out of the way. Not sure about L—-. When she had enough of Skelton she kicked his ass out too. Can’t vote for her.
The lady was not working for Government and not under COI scrutiny however as first lady there were kickbacks such as the McKinsey Consultancy and connection with BVI Airways fiasco
Lorna had no connection with the airplane disaster which was caused by a crooked BVI lawyer lying to the government while in the pay of the people pushing the airline.
There was incompetence that allowed that to happen but Lorna was not involved.
She had years of opportunity to fix, but it was not important to her. There are people who can talk, but we want people who truly care about the BVI and will take the actions necessary to advance this country, not themselves and their families only.
It flowed better when NDP was in. Had delays but not this bad.
It is a simple fix.
The affiliates the conglomerates the brethren’s and their minions make great gains. The rest of us were not paid increments for many years. More hidden policies implemented many schemes so the fixes and solution these coming with are mere tricks and theatrics. He is not credible neither is her group of fairies.
Lorna speaks sense! (in my humble opinion)
Putting all of the people in one building won’t change the fact that they aren’t trained to do their jobs properly or empowered to make minor, time-saving decisions.
Although worryingly they are empowered to make major decisions involving their own interpretations of the law. How many times have you been told to produce one document by one officer and when you return with it another officer has a different view of the law and asks for something different?
How many WP were approved last week, or even last month but people having to pay for time the 2nd or 3rd time. How why and how many times thru the years this happens?
You weren’t listening she spoke about the training the civil service needs as well as their increments.
The issue is that elected ministers should not be involved with the day-to-day of the ministry as the employees are voters, making it a conflict of interest. There must be a manager who has full control and can fire and hire; realistically it needs to be an ex-pat with no family connections.
Set working hours and employees who are late are automatically written up and fired after three warnings; same for not performing to expectation. There needs to be a cleaning out of the deadwood, streamlining the working of the ministries and increasing accountability to the public and greater efficiency. In other words, turn them into proper businesses!!
@ reality check,
Love some of your comments. But firing and hiring create more unemployment. Train the ones that are there for a period given them a chance to see real live active professionals at customer service, administration and management. Show them how to managed time and instill greater values of people skills, connections to network with the business community. And stop telling employees what to do, start showing them how it’s done!
Everyone has to eat, when we who are community minded people look out for each other we can decreased imported Labour, because the people who are already living here would have the skills and tenacity to build a better Virgin Islands.
Go back to your country and suggest these ideas.
The takeover of the BVI is complete. You all fail to u d’état and the huge money that work permits and business licences represent. Greedy expats come and reap the riches while locals ketch their azz. And you thought it was the “colonizers” you had to worry about. That time Mother England has been trying to protect her loyal BVI subjects from rape and pillage by greedy expats.
God help us all.
They couldn’t come and get these licences and permits if certain politicians not just ones who have rich white friends didn’t give them. Houseing wouldn’t be so expensive if LOCAL landlords didn’t put up the prices so only these trust company people could afford them. Trust companies are a good thing but allowing them to import everyone above secretarial level is terrible. Hardly any local lawyers, only black ones from Jamaica so they can get rid of them. Better labour policies would make the trust companies more useful to us.
Government do not do performance evaluations as they should so employees are comfortable doing little to nothing.
It is sickening the way you bloggers just run your mouths. You all give the impression that there are not HARD-WORKING PUBLIC OFFICERS. Check yourself and try a little fairness.
As they say, “talk is Cheap” except when you talk on FLO line.
Lorna need to realize we in this BVI are no Fools, we know and remember well. It is not too long ago that she was the real leader behind the NDP and she now want to say they, the same NDP, both 1 and 2 will fix labour work permit issue, which by the way, they themselves create?
Lorna, too little too late.
What is more interesting she want to “Create World Class System”. Did she say that? Whose phrase is this, the “World Class” whatever? That the common speech from her husband, past Premier, everything for him was “World Class”. Even the Helipad that never was used and now disappeared to make parking lot, was a “world Class helipad”. Now where is it? Could it have been her written speech to him using “World Class”. Well my dear we have had too many world class from NDP that never got to the village, let alone to the world.
Where is that New work permit process that Kedrick Malone created that would see work permit renewals in as little as 2 weeks and work permit no more that one month? wasn’t it created under NDP Government, with the “mighty white people friend”, or the might one who had all his white friends being minister of Labour, what happened to that process?
You think is because all is not under one roof that this criminality of people waiting for months on end to get a work permit that is the problem? Think again, madame first lady. AS far as we are concerned lost opportunities cannot be regained. You time expired a long time ago. Spin and come again.
The worst that happened under the NDP gov to work permit issues as far as Im concerned is the fact that if a work permit is in labour dept for renewal way before the renewal date and it stayed there so long, the thing expired, that person has to go to immigration for time extension and pay $25, which by the way used to be the cost for extension for one year. 2 days or how ever many days later the labour calls and say work permit is now ready, that person has to go to pick and pay the same fee for one year, when they just paid couple days earlier, all was done that way under NDP while the NDP minister with all the white friends was at the helm of Labour Dept.
That being said, we no nothing will change for the better under NDP 1 nor 2. So we going VIP all the way, BAM, BAM, BAM
WE know and remember while A Christpher was labour minister under VIP he and Omar would give people unlimited work permit exemption, especially if you were married to a Belonger or here for a number of years, when NDP got in all that was changed. When the honorable who thought Island People had never seen a US$100. bill until they came to BVI, she yanked unlimited work permit exemption and was only allowing 1 year or 2 for the most. Now Lorna want to talk about world class work permit system. WE will still thank God for VIP Government. WE are saying give these Young People in VIP a fighting chance to prove themselves. SO far in spite of all the challenges they have done well and got a C+ almost made it to B+. This time around, Im sure they will get an A. Yes!!!! VIP all the Way!!!
Many of the VIPERS should go all the way…..
to jail.
You know diddly if you thought Lorna Smith ran the NDP government.
Orlando Smith may be a gentle soul but he is very much his own man and made his own decisions. His biggest mistake was that he was too trusting.
Believe me, Lorna will not make that error.
Sounds good, but wasn’t Marlon Jr. Minister of Trade and Consumer Affairs not so long ago? How did that go? Are we listening to empty words are we going to vote for people based on their records? I think Lorna with her experience can do some good things but her team is WEAK! NDP cannot form the Government.
M—– Penn is not Premier material.
We need our own Iron Lady to sort out the mess.
Ok so I don’t understand why the say a renewal take two weeks to process and if it aint process within that two weeks you have to go in and pay for extension of time at immigration. some takes more than three weeks so why the people have to pay for extension if labour department is working slow?? another thing I don’t understand is why is there only one cashier at immigration dept. Everyday in there is full and they only have one cashier. I think because of this is why people have to stay in there so long.
90% of the voters are convince that no one party will get a majority of 13 or a clear mandate, in other words no party will win 7 Seats, so the best guess is a unity Govt…It comes down to Who has the best negotiating skills and want to give up a lot..
leave it to an Anguillan to try to tell us how to run OUR country.
she was the defacto Premier when O—–o was in power and dam near sold out the entire country to her white friends in those law firms and businesses…WHY would we elect her?
WHY???
Because she is smart, capable and honest.
If she doesnt care about the BVI why would she give up her comfortable life to get involved in sorting the country out.
She wants power – her life is not comfortable unless she has political power!!!
She never had political power before.
But she worked harder and did more than anyone who did.
what about the residency ? eh ? people living here for years and cant get a lil break or status so they could live a decent life..
Rent High
Salary Low
and you still try to take our money
slick way to get expat votes.
Time will tell. Everybody have pie in the sky solutions and when they get in power, that’s it. It will be how many trips to UK and Hong Kong and dress by ohhmee
The reality is that Lorna has already “been there and done that” – she doesn’t need us to fund her to run off to UK and Hong Kong, and she certainly doesn’t need us to dress her!
Sounds like she doesn’t need anyone by your account.
But what does she need to get elected?
Guys I think she can really help. Give her a chance.
Lorna needs to realize and overstand that a number of persons working in the Labour department are on the take. Fix that
NOT AN EAST FIX WOMAN…YOU WILL HAVE TO SELL YOUR BODY IN THIS VIRGIN ISLANDS.
Yes put expats in positions of control in the civil service like they do in the other Caribbean countries and around the world and all locals will be cleaned up so that you will have full control. The biggest mistake that has been made is not putting the breaks on the runaway train. Sickening and full of shit.
I told persons, responsible persons, in high-level meetings 30 years ago that the government has to be careful with the Labour Department and work permits and to be careful with the Immigration Department and Entry Permits. Fast forward…..look at the fiasco they both have turned into. Seize the time to get the internal and political fortitude to address and fix them. Put the policies in place and enforce them equally across the board.
Say it again please and louder! Keep saying it! Some are distracted by talk of “colonizers” and missing the point!
We need n trouble. We know who we don’t want but not who we want. Lor.a win the solution. She will walk on you and not say hello.
How come all these ideas didn’t pop out during her three terms as Premier?
She no more ran the government than Mrs O’Neal, or Mrs Romney or Mrs Fahie did.
The difference is she would be capable of running the government
What I would have liked to hear from Lorna, is how she will use her skills as a learned individual, with access to power and resources-financial and otherwise, HOW she will help others- immigrant women like herself, to become better educated, employed, and on their way to a sound financial future for themselves, and their families.
Now is not the time for her to invent services. She had opportunities for this and missed during her husband’s reign!
As long as she continues to talk of increased and better services in any department, her chances of victory are slim!
Always promote your strengths!
Services, or the lack thereof, are not one of them.
WE WAN LORNA IN WE CORNER
I remember when Lorna personally said she would help me get a work permit. I called every month. They said Lorna never contacted them. I spoke to Dr Smith and he said she is very busy… Too busy for small people. NDP could have fixed Labour all those years and they never did. They are the problem.
I went through the registered voters list of each district. Every district has registered voters who are unemployed. All the candidates are soliciting votes, but have any of them reach out to the unemployed in their individual districts and find out why the person is unemployed and how they can help? I think not. They all talk a pack of sh*t about helping people and building communities. All talk, No action.