Gov’t urged to pay over $10M owed to BVIEC
Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn has stated that the government needs to pay the approximate $10 million it owes to the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) so the entity can get much-needed resources to properly do its job.
Penn made the appeal in the House of Assembly on July 7, as elected leaders debated the appointment of Sheldon Scatliffe as Board Chairman of BVIEC. He said the BVIEC has been facing financial and other challenges which were compounded by the 2017 disasters.
He said the money the government owed could improve BVIEC’s bottom line and help the entity to improve its service.
“When you look at the bottom line, when you look at the financial constraints — particularly coming out of the storms of 2017 and the capacity issues that were faced by the corporation and just the public, their main customers were down and they had a challenge getting revenue to where it needs to be. I understand that the government owes a tremendous amount of money to the corporation and we have to find ways to get the resources to the corporation so they can function the way they ought to,” Penn stated.
“I got an email last week which shows that one [government] entity owes over $5 million — just one entity alone that owes money to the corporation. That is something we have to fix to ensure the viability of this organisation continues. We cannot have the government owing in excess of $10 million in fees to the Corporation,” Penn added.
While making the appeal for the government to pay the outstanding amounts owed to BVIEC, Penn said he believes Scatliffe has the financial acumen to improve the situation at the BVIEC.
Scatliffe, who served many years as the Director of the Finance of the Financial Services Commission, was touted by legislators as one who can help to improve the conditions at the cash-strapped BVIEC.
The BVIEC has faced heavy criticism in recent times as residents continue to experience frequent and unplanned power outages which affect their business and safety in their communities.
The reasons given for the power outages range from the effects of sargassum and outdated equipment being used at BVIEC stations.
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if government doesn’t pay them why should we
Good point. If they are not cut off from receiving electricity supply the same way we would be for failing to pay, then this is unfair.
This shouldn’t even be a topic for discussion. The government should pay timely, as we’re all expected to do. These arrears didn’t accumulate overnight, either.
Why 250k for a concert? Why was Head Coach even thinking about building a racetrack? Why build a new airport?
And they question why the UK is involved. This stuff is so basic it shouldn’t even arise.
Them say “we not broke” they need to pay their bill.
Marlon come on now, that bill was ran up over the years even when your Government was in office and they never paid it. Explain to the people why the Government’s bill is so high, stop playing politics with everything.
Treat like any other customer. Cut off current for non payment.
The Premier would rather pay for 40 more concerts
Wish I could of given you 20 more likes but I limited to one
Most of that is owed by the bankrupt hospital
Government should prioritize. But they dont cate so all government departments and other entities that are runned by Government who owe the cooperation sholud be disconnected. Then you will see how quickly they pay outstanding bills .
Dept heads are afraid to do so because somebody is connected to somebody else and somebody is related to the cousin of somebody so nothing will get done and the Bvi saga continues that is why the Premier can soend money for a concert so recklessly . Let us see if DATA will come out to show the economic growth of such an investment. sooo blinded are we
It started waayyyy before Marlon’s time. The Party that started it have control again
Did they forget to budget for this expense or is it budgeted for but the money going somewhere else. That 250,000 could have made a difference had it been paid to BVIEC. The new balance could have been 9.75 million outstanding today.
Don’t be fooled here. This is just another greedy politician making noise. Nothing will be done because bviec doesn’t have the will to take a hard stance and cut off their supply. That’s the only way you will get these criminals to act. And for those who want their increments? Exact same solution: unionize and strike. Shut the port down until you get your money. It’s the only way you will get paid.
Cut it off without notice, just like the rest of us. And, charge a re-connection fee!
Oh boi, life is unfair, image I only have a fridge and a stove and the electricity bill each month creating holes in my budget.
A whole million plus , please government pay the people, when the light go the mosquitoes start to bite, I can’t take anymore.