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Gov’t focused on scoresheet, not people’s issues

Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull

Second District Representative Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull has accused the Virgins Islands Party (VIP) government of being fixated on creating a scoresheet that demonstrates their legislative accomplishments in office rather than addressing some of the urgent needs facing society.

The Opposition legislator said at a recent press conference that even though things may appear to be running smoothly, a closer look will offer a true awareness of the existing reality.

According to Turnbull, after the Finance Minister’s budget presentation late last year and the more recent Speech from the Throne by the governor, he was expecting to hear a clear message of hope.

“I was looking for some sort of hope. A message of hope, a message of inspiration, a message that finds people where they are in this territory, but all we heard was a list of how many meetings they had, and how many pieces of legislation they passed, and how many pieces of legislation are yet to be passed,” Turnbull argued.

He contended that these accomplishments were being touted largely in the absence of the reality of the feelings of the people on the ground.

“How you build the nation is through building the people of the Virgin Islands,” Turnbull offered.

“I need us to get back to a place where we are building and investing in the people of the Virgin Islands, not looking to create our own scoresheet of how many pieces of legislation, or how many times Cabinet met, or how many times the House of Assembly met,” he asserted.

The legislator further questioned what the government’s approach was doing to positively affect the lives of residents, particularly the youth and the elderly who are vulnerable in society.

“Even though we have legislation in place as it relates to our minors and our juveniles, what are we doing concerning the issues that address seniors?” Turnbull asked.

He added: “Our seniors are being abused; our seniors are being neglected. There is nothing that is done – no piece of legislation, no piece of enforcement that is done — to protect our seniors who are being abused, whether physically, mentally, [or] emotionally.”

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10 Comments

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  1. mitch is the man says:

    Not Karl not janice

  2. Hmmmm says:

    And you are focused on being Deputy Premier…now what?

  3. Hmmn says:

    How are our seniors being abused?

  4. In truth says:

    Mitch, the seniors are being robbed as well. For example the banks are no longer updating pass books and they are telling everyone they have to check their balances on line. Some of the seniors are confused, and want to know what that is because they have no knowledge or means of doing so. It is important that Government tackle this issue because the seniors are helpless if they have two pennies in the bank and cannot monitor it. What will happen to their pennies?

    One elderly lady mentioned to me that she would like to look at a little television but her house was damaged during the hurricane and it is now repaired but they are telling her that she needs wifi in order to reconnect her cable. She said that even if she finds someone to do it for her, how is she going to manage when she is along. She just wants to be able to turn on her television and look at a little news or sports. Poor seniors are getting left on the wayside, and its no fault of theirs that they live in this era. Somebody has to look out for them.

    • Seniors says:

      Oh for goodness sake – she needs to pull her finger out and contact flow. If she has been able to sort herself a mobile phone plan, she can navigate wife and smart tv. Change ain’t going to stop but you do have to keep up with the times. Google it. Stop relying on others to fix your problems.

      Let’s get back on real issues: clean air, fresh water, reliable electricity and education.

      …TV – way down the list

      Like 1
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  5. watchman says:

    So you’re admitting that they have legislative accomplishments? Check.

  6. Flow says:

    Can flow instruct me otherwise. The way I understand it you have to get internet to get TV, and you have to get a land line to get internet. Am I Correct? Therefore you have to take the whole package to see a little TV. Is that so?

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