Gov’t extends rental contract with Skelton
The government has extended a rental contract with Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton’s real estate company, Skelton Properties Limited.
The extension allows Skelton to continue serving as a House of Assembly (HOA) member despite his business dealings with the government, owing to specific constitutional exemptions.
Initially established in August 2020 for $36,000 per month, the agreement pertains to warehouse space and has been extended for two years.
The Virgin Islands’ constitution permits government officials to continue serving in their positions if they have business interests with the government, provided they openly and promptly disclose their interests. This provision aims to manage potential conflicts of interest while acknowledging the territory’s economic reality, where the government is a major buyer of services.
Premier Wheatley reassured HOA members of the legal and ethical handling of the contract and highlighted the routine nature of such exemptions in a small community where many elected officials are also businesspersons.
“It is a routine practice for us to have these resolutions in the House because, of course, we have members of the House of Assembly who are business persons,” Wheatley stated.
Dr. Wheatley also touched upon the broader implications of such agreements, noting discussions and reviews driven by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) recommendations and the Constitutional Review Commission regarding the integrity framework of government contracts.
The COI highlighted the need for enhanced integrity and transparency in government dealings, particularly concerning contracts awarded to members of the House of Assembly. While the COI found that such arrangements are permissible under the existing constitutional and legal frameworks, it recommended strengthening the integrity framework to ensure these dealings are conducted ethically and transparently.
Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley referenced the COI’s findings, noting that recommendations included enhancing systems to prevent potential abuses of power or conflicts of interest. “We just have to basically strengthen our integrity framework, which we are taking steps to do,” the Premier added.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
NOT SURPRISED
Wow,look where our taxpayers money going skelton alone made $1,728,000 in 4 years,that’s just one location,DMV renting malon building,WATER &SEWERAGE renting qomar trading,TAX OFFICE renting skelton fish bay,PREMIER OFFICE renting cutlass building,CUSTOM renting qumar building,PORTS AUTHORITY renting pasea place,PASSPORT OFFICE renting sakal place, MAGISTRATE COURT renting sakal place,BVI TOURISM renting akara building,BVI TOURISM BOARD renting Geneva building,YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS renting ward’s building,I could keep go on,what are the government trying to achieve?a country that have incompetent analysis to do a survey to show how the government could save money and give jobs to young people buy building tourism attraction,but no they want to give there colleagues business who use government fund to build building and rent it back to the government at a cost that no one could debate.
TO THE UK I KNOW YOU CAN SEE NOTHING HAS CHANGED, AFTER THE ELECTION TOMORRO PLEASE TAKE OVER THE BVI SO THERE MIGHT BE A HOPE FOR US.
I like how my fellow Locals have energy to call out the UK on all kinda alleged wrong doings…
but when is our own doing bull right before our eyes we dont say ntn
i not studying aya mehson.
either yuh ignorant to the truth or you in them pocket like everybody else.
hopefully yall time will come just like Andrew.
everything will catch up to you eventually
It got people calling in to tola radio saying coi was a fraud but then i see stuff like this on the news.
yall brains really loose mehson.
dumb and dumbmer
and tola radio like them allegedly done in the politician pockets cuz them steady defending andrew despite hard facts plus literal voice recordings smhhh
i dont trust yall at all
What is happening with the rebuilding/renovation of the Admin Building? Besides buying an elevator for close to 1Million?
UK now
This extension of a rental contract with the Honorable Opposition Leader’s real estate company raises a number of CRITICAL ISSUES & CONCERNS that needed to be identified and fully discussed at yesterday’s HOA when this was tabled for discussion in the interest of TRANSPARENCY and GOOD GOVERNANCE.
This provided a great opportunity for the MEMBERS OF THE HOA, both Government & Opposition, to raise critical & relevant issues to this topic including details as to the process undertaken to ensure transparency & fairness in the extension of this contract, the rationale for continuing, AND timing as to completion of the admin complex so that contracts such as these would no longer be needed THUS RESULTING in cost savings/ benefit for the country.
SADLY & DISAPPOINTINGLY, the Premier & Minister of Finance AS WELL AS other members of the HOA did not take the opportunity presented at HOA yesterday to discuss issues & concerns relevant to this topic; INCLUDING WHETHER APPROPRIATE MEASURES were taken to justify the extension of this contract with the member of the House.
The opportunity was also missed to show through an actual example that the type of governance reforms we have committed to working towards, especially in light of the COI OBSERVATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS, are truly TAKING ROOT.
PLEASE RAISE THE STANDARD…. Give the people something sound to believe in, be encouraged by and learn from…LEAD BY EXAMPLE in DEMONSTRATING REAL CHANGE & IMPROVED GOVERNANCE IN DAY TO DAY DECISION MAKING…
HOPEFULLY you can and will do better.
Why nobody can’t explain why the admin complex still can’t be used so many years later. I feel like a whole second admin complex could have been built in the time it taking just to repair the one we have.
or at least use some of the space as a warehouse
LETS ASK OUR HOLY PASTOR TURNBULL FROM CANE GARDEN BAY ( WHO WAS BOLD FACED ENOUGH BTO HOLLER OUT THAT BWE ARE FREE OF CORRUPTION IN THE BVI ) TO EXPLAIN WHY IT AIN’T REPAIRED YET AND ABOUT ALL THE RENTALS , WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HIM HOLLER OUT ON THOSE PLUS POTHOLES & RAW SH*T ON THE STREETS ETC
Wow! How big is this warehouse! (For what?)
Wha in de warehouse
They dont want to pay the Thomas in sea cows bay $8000 per month for several acres of flat land but they want to acquire the land
This is sad. Then there is no money for struggling people and we wonder why crime is up when those young guys have kids to feed too.
why people count others money? DO THEY KNOW YOUR EXPENSE IN RUNNING A BUSINESS then paying people to maintain.
In addition the place is available… we need to stop it have enough for all. If all of us were bless with the same ability thing then it would be a disaster.
Let us use our gift take care of what we have and cheer on each other regardless of gift
get rid of curuption, and drugs as well as false God have million today do not mean we will have it tommorow.
This is what BVI people like to come with when you question anything or anyone. Quick to pull the “jealousy” card.
We should all be happy for those who continue to make more, while we continue to make less.
You speaking of corruption! 36,000 a month for a wear house is corruption,the government need to build there own facilities to accommodate themselves from wasting taxpayers money because at the end of the day those spaces that skelton was building were already organized by the government,actually that spaces was built for inland revenue with that fix price,you remember when they were over at cct head office,I guess not.
Corruption and cronyism at its finest. Been going on for years. Ask Mr Christopher about it. About 20-25 years ago, he rented his property as temporary office space when there were issues in the admin building (mold due to poor design). Govt paid him $ 1 million in rent but the offices he supplied also allegedly had mold issues that rendered the spaces unusable. So he had the govt pay to fix this in addition to paying the rent. He was an elected govt official at the time. All this reported in the BVI Beacon at the time. No consequences other than he collected a million and had the tax payers fix his property. Smh
UK NOW!!! they are hollering. Their hatredfor the Black man and their. ignorance of the naturalprogress of and people isdriving them stoned out of their minds.
Many haters of the Black man and the evidence of his world’s success towards his God given freedom and right to exist, and thinks that they have an eternal right tohis oppression are angry.
They are failing to see the. deminse of colonialism, neocoloniaalism and their antuquated thoughts.
What you see today is the works of the Lord king a once oppressed people out of the bowels of UK and others imposed horrors of death.
Now the Lords work is opening before their very eyes and they are incapable of accepting change for the Black man from oppression to transition.. Their desire to se him reamin in misery and poverty, unable to steer his own destiny is quite so evident,,
Indeed, the person who so blatanlty advocates for one nation to take over another is a mentality equialent to that of Natzi Germany and Soviet Russia and the KKK Clan of American and Britian.
Yet, they will call themselves a supporter of democracy. A sad state of affairs that is.
The next Fat Albert
How big is the warehouse, what it the square foot rent? At least find out if it is fair market value, aside from the questions about the Admin Complex nonsense.
Skelton’s where not just slave owners but ran the show on an industrial scale from acquiring in Guinea to storage and selling on to whitey..
Tola fulla monee! Reopen Admin Complex tomorrow and you’ll be told, how mold take over the place and the renting and monee wastage continues without end.