Gov’t threatens weekly ‘fact sheet’ in face of mounting criticism

Premier addressing the nation with member of the VIP Government.

Premier Andrew Fahie has promised to release a weekly ‘fact sheet’ of his government’s achievements in the face of continued criticism it has received.

Speaking in the House of Assembly recently, Premier Fahie said he was not inclined to sit down and let his detractors define his government as ‘talk’, especially in light of all its achievements.

“That is why we have come up as a government with the fact sheet – just the facts,” the Premier stated.

He suggested that the ‘fact sheet’ will continue to be released from now until his government has decided to call the next elections.

“We have enough to put out every single week that are just the facts,” the Premier charged.

And while speaking in defence of his government’s ‘good name’, the Premier also sought to uphold his own personal integrity.

I didn’t get any kickbacks from COVID stimulus

He denied that he ever received kickbacks for any of the stimulus funds doled out by his government in the recent past and accused Opposition members of telling the public otherwise.

I ain’t have a dime for a soul,” Premier Fahie said.

“I tried to help the people of the Virgin Islands with my government and not one of them who get a stimulus could tell the people of the Virgin Islands that they come back and give Andrew Fahie no kickback, because that’s what the fifty percent of the Opposition are out there saying on the streets,” he added.

Criticisms and scandals against gov’t

The Andrew Fahie-led government has been slapped with heavy public criticisms after a series of apparent missteps over the past months.

Government received tremendous blowback after it was discovered that more than $6 million of its COVID-19 stimulus had been distributed to farmers and fisherfolk with little, if any, oversight of the process.

The distribution was flagged by both government’s internal auditor and the Auditor General. Many persons who received stimulus funds were found to have never registered as either farmers or fisherfolk.

Several of these payments were also found to have been grossly inflated by the Premier’s Office, which was responsible for distributing the monies.

Barge and border security blowback

The Premier was also criticised for his handling of border security issues – more particularly during the early stages of the pandemic when it was revealed that he unilaterally contracted a barge to assist in patrolling the territory’s waters.

The move was made after an earlier refusal of an offer by former Governor Augustus Jaspert of a UK Navy vessel to conduct patrols, reportedly at no cost to the territory.

Controversial political adviser hires 

More recently, the government was heavily criticised for its decision to hire ministerial political advisers at a proposed cost of nearly $1 million per annum – a figure which the Premier has also roundly contested.

In its defence, the government said the funds for the advisers had already been budgeted in its consultancy allocation and argued that remuneration for its consultants was not coming from any “new monies”.

The government has also been under the watchful eye of an ongoing Commission of Inquiry (COI) that former governor, Augustus Jaspert, instituted to establish whether there is evidence of corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty in public office in recent years.

Drakes_650x200