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Gov’t wants UK to relax Financial Management policy so BVI can adequately fund COVID-19 relief

Financial Secretary Glenroy Forbes.

Government will be initiating talks with the United Kingdom for them to review, amend and/or relax some for the conditions outlined in the Protocols for Effective Financial Management agreement signed between the BVI and the UK back in 2012.

Making the announcement on Wednesday, Premier Andrew Fahie said the BVI is seeking for these conditions to be relaxed because of “the real impacts and forecasted economic outlook for the BVI due to the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic” and because the conditions of the 2012 agreement ‘impede’ the BVI government from being able “to finance the immediate relief and economic stimulation programmes on its own”.

Fahie said Cabinet has, therefore, agreed to instruct Financial Secretary Glenroy Forbes to lead ‘technical discussions’ with the UK on behalf of the territory.

He said is hoping that Britain relieves the government of its obligation under Section 20 of the Protocols for Effective Financial Management and the review and amendment of Sections 25, 27 and 28.

Among other things outline in those sections of the 2012 agreement, the BVI is not permitted to borrow more than 80 percent of its recurring revenue, which is currently in excess of $400 million.

Sections 27 and 28 of the Protocols of Effective Financial Management

The Premier then assured that all funding, aid, assistance, grant, gift or donation received with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, “shall be payable into the Consolidated Fund and managed through the Ministry of Finance, in keeping with the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007, the Public Finance Management Act, 2004, and the Audit Act, 2003”.

He informed the public that this is to ensure accountability and fiscal responsibility to make certain that public accounts accountability, and transparency of contributions to the BVI for the COVID-19 relief.

It was also agreed by Cabinet that he will ‘publicly account and report’ on all funding, aid, grant, gift, donation received.

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8 Comments

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  1. Lol says:

    What a joke!!!!

  2. Jane says:

    Voters: keep your ears and eyes open. Governments the World over are using Covid 19 to camouflage all sorts of actitivities which otherwise receive greater scrutiny. The current financial controls prevent the BVI being bankrupted. They are there for a good reason

  3. It says:

    is a joke that a foriegn nation, excluded the colonial/neocolonial connection for now, has that kind of control over your finances and management thereof, period!!

    Hapless, incapablelittle children we are. Mother has to manage our finances.

    Like 4
    Dislike 1
    • Violins says:

      Foreign nation? The underlying racism in the above comment is pretty clear-cut. If the UK is a foreign nation why does the BVI HoA ask this foreign nation for help every time they are in need? Answer: the UK is not a foreign nation because the BVI is not a nation in itself.

      Is that clear enough? No?

      When or if the British Virgin Islands becomes the Democratic Republic of the Virgin Islands it will then be a nation and will have nobody to turn to for help. It will be 100% independent and 100% responsible for its decisions, all of them. Including making trade agreements and political agreements with other nations.

      If you don’t like being helped by the UK, or let’s be honest if you don’t like having a country you consider to be “White” helping you then you are free to emigrate to the DRC where you will no longer have to suffer white people and the long-term games you imagine they play. You can sit back and watch as your brethren hack each other to death for being from a different tribe. You know, like how Shaka Zulu committed genocide simply to remove tribes from his kingdom. Or like how Haile Selassie allowed his people to starve while he lived in luxury. Or even like how king Mansa Musa marched 12000 African slaves to Mecca. Speaking of Mansa Musa, wasn’t he the godfather of the African slave trade? Yes I think he was.

      In 1883 the UK was the first nation on this planet to abolish all forms of human slavery.

      Little fact there for you. Enjoy your weekend.

      Like 11
      Dislike 11
      • ??? says:

        The comments by It are childish, more so than racist.

        But your comments discuss some VERY extreme examples of African leaders (if your comments are indeed true and there is doubt about some of them) to support your argument, which makes your comments no better than It.

        By the way, the UK being the “first to abolish slavery” is a very poor response (or rather, it should NOT be a response at all) to the UK being involved in slavery in the first place.

        Your comments are more racist than It’s.

        Like 11
        Dislike 2
  4. Cup of Tea says:

    “You can sit back and watch as your brethren hack each other to death for being from a different tribe. You know, like how Shaka Zulu committed genocide simply to remove tribes from his kingdom. Or like how Haile Selassie allowed his people to starve while he lived in luxury. Or even like how king Mansa Musa marched 12000 African slaves to Mecca. Speaking of Mansa Musa, wasn’t he the godfather of the African slave trade? Yes I think he was.” All racist self justfying inaccuracies.

    The UK has committed some of the gravest and hideous atrocities against Africans, Caribbeans and Indians from the 1200-1900’s, that would make anything you posted there look similar to child’s play.

    In 1883 the UK was the first nation on this planet to abolish all forms of human slavery.

    Indeed, long after the UK so called abolish slavery, t wasstill practiced in allthe colonies and in the UK for years after. More importantly, it is being to this day through unlivabke wages and other high productivity low wages/salaries

    Little fact do you know, some do know history very deeply and well, to know that what you have posted are not accurate, but nor will there any attempts to correct them here. Wikipedia is not a reputable source of genuine facts , and neither is your mind.

    You appear discomboggled and over sensitive over one word, one term. Sad. You appear troubled that one individual does not subscribe to being ruled by others, especially white british ones. Well, to bad.

    Last, from the shores of Africa to the Caribbean, my neterus toiled for free and made UK bukoo rich and they were never paid a pence. Then they went to the DRC, stole all the wealth, supplied their puppets with guns and with deceptive cunning, properganda, placed tribe against tribe to perpetu!ally kill each other whilest they continue to rob and plunder the minerals and other resources.

    I will go to the DRC of my own chosing, not by your urging. I have more rights here than you because my offspring traces unbrokenly from here to Africa and back.

    While you are trying to claim soveriengity to these lands as a result of murder, rape, extinction of other humans and appropriation of their lands. I can tell you think nothing of the Black man orthe Africa, hence, they think little of you either, and thus do not wish to be ruled by you and such hostile and vile and unpredictable mentality.

    Like 5
    Dislike 3
  5. No nonsense says:

    Instead of giving monetary handouts to wwho can’t get enough. We the work hard and devoted civil servants want our increments! All of a sudden self sufficient BVILANDERS looking for hand outside. There is not an underprivileged BVILANDER! And as for social security…do not touch

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