I did not say I care more for expats than locals
Minister of Youth and Education, Myron Walwyn
After remaining silent for several months about claims that he is more concerned about the interests of expats than he is for locals, NDP Chairman Myron Walwyn has now decided to respond.
Walwyn categorically stated this week that those claims are not true and are the false reports of ‘a particular news site’.
He did not specify what site but noted: “I’ve been hearing the thing for a while. I’ve heard a pastor – a person of the cloth – come on the radio and say that I said something like that and I find it very disturbing.”
The claims labelling Walwyn as a minister who supports expats more than he does locals began circulating after an address he reportedly made to educators back in January 2016.
“Essentially, I was speaking to all the teachers and everybody who was under the ministry, that the world has changed, we can’t just simply say you are going to put a law in place to say ‘x, y, z’ because we have our Constitution in place. Our job now is to ensure that we make our people as competent as possible. Take our responsibility seriously so that they are prepared for whatever comes down the line,” he stated.
“If anybody is saying that, that means you are not working or not protecting locals, well, I am so sorry for them in terms of their interpretation. I have spent my time here in government working hard for the people of this country and I didn’t just start when I got elected but before then, and I will continue to do so,” Walwyn said.
He fired back at the claims against him during the NDP radio programme this week.
Below is an excerpt from the reported statement of contention from Walwyn.
In today’s society, our Governments cannot write laws and implement policies to completely protect our local population like we did years ago. There are many occasions where we wish we could do more to protect opportunities for our people, but the world doesn’t work that way anymore. The world that we are in today is more complex, filled with conflict and tension, and our people must learn how to adapt to this and positively respond for their success and for our continued success.
Ladies and gentlemen in this room, this is our load to bear. It is what this Government signed up for, it is what I’ve signed up for as Minister for Education and Culture, and it is what you’ve signed up for when you chose your line of work or agreed to support the vision and mission of this Ministry by becoming a member of one of our boards or supporting organisations.
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the damage done do
I empathize with the seekers of the truth. Unfortunately, we live in an age where half-truths reign. Hence, it becomes confusing when our politicians who themselves encourage and strive on half-truths present themselves as innocent victims of malicious half-truths. It is Machiavellian politics at its best!!!And so to you who seek the truth I repeat the words of Jimmy Cliff “Time will Tell…Time Alone Will Tell.”
Oh my alternative truths on our shores?
Strupes! sheer damage control
The fact of the matter is you can pass all the laws you want in favor of locals but if the programs are not put in place to educate people there’s no way they can take advantage of the said laws. We have labor laws for example that requires you to publish vacancies and put belonger/locals preferred etc. Put an ad in the paper right now for a qualified accountant with 10 years experience and see how many locals apply. Not that we don’t have local qualified accountants, but the ones we have probably own their own firms or are managers/partners at their current firm and won’t leave just like that. We have many laws in favor of locals but we never prepared our people to take advantage of said laws. I can go on and on but Hon. Walwyn is correct. Instead of focusing on laws we need to focus on development of our people so that they can take up their rightful places whether it be employment, business, land ownership etc.
I thought our education system was top notch. Aint that what they bragging about in the news. Is it not the BVI that excell at CXC, etc. So what is the problem then. Stop telling lies, most of the times they already recruit the expats then they interview locals for style. Don’t think we stupid. We know how the done deals operate. We are not given preferences even when we are qualified…period! That’s a FACT!
Start a business, start recruiting then come back and talk. I am a business owner, I’m a BVIslander and I employ 15 people. Talk is cheap!! Get into business and see what’s going on or stay on the sidelines and stop the foolish noise. You guys have no clue what you are talking about, no clue!!! Being qualified is more than going to school/college and passing, it has to do with work ethic, attitude and team playing just to name a few that cannot be determined by nationality or CV.
Both of you have a point.
@@Facts 1 : You are correct
@ Facts2 thanks for the motivation, but you have to realize that there is a negative stigma going on about BVirgin Islands in the work place.
Lest We Forget.
People of the B.V.I. lets wake up.
I think a lot of BVIslanders are too hung up on getting degrees. A degree is great but getting professional qualifications is preferred. ACA / ACCA / CPA is what’s desirable from an accountant. I have seen many BVIslanders who have very impressive sounding Masters degrees from DeVry University (or other pay to play universities) and they’re under the impression that this is a good qualification. It really isn’t and I feel bad for people who have spent good money and time pursuing it when they would have been better pursuing a recognised professional qualification at HLSCC.
It is factual that all locales, states and countries worldwide have their own values, standards of educational attainments and professional paradigms.
Hence, with regards to educational qualifications, despite being “accreditated,” a degree from HLSCC will, in many international spheres be equivalent to a high school graduate diploma applying for a scientific position, while a science diploma from Yale or Harvard will easily get a certain segment of the human population in the door.
Indeed, values and prejudices, yes prejudices, vary from country to country, and human effort and or giftedness seldom factors into the process.
A degree, despite the weight it manifest, is only somewhat relative given its locale obtained and the individual in possession thereof.
At the end of the day what is the use when you get ACA/ACCA/CPA and you are a da*m pig in lipstick. Most of those accountants, females in partucular have zero soft skills and as a result while some MAY be able to push figures, they can’t hold a job for long bc they cannot work well with people. I feel sorry for them who gain these big shot accounting degrees and dont have a clue as to how to deal with their staff.
Put an advert for a dish washer and no locals will apply.
In today’s society, our Governments cannot write laws and implement policies to completely protect our local population like we did years ago. There are many occasions where we wish we could do more to protect opportunities for our people, but the world doesn’t work that way anymore. The world that we are in today is more complex, filled with conflict and tension, and our people must learn how to adapt to this and positively respond for their success and for our continued success.
Ladies and gentlemen in this room, this is our load to bear. It is what this Government signed up for, it is what I’ve signed up for as Minister for Education and Culture, and it is what you’ve signed up for when you chose your line of work or agreed to support the vision and mission of this Ministry by becoming a member of one of our boards or supporting organisations.
How anyone can read the above and come to the conclusion that it means the man doesn’t care about locals is beyond me. Firstly this man was born in the BVI, he is a local so what is that all about? Secondly, how does simply passing laws protect locals? These things must go hand in hand and what I gather from his speech is that he’s telling teachers/educators that they are playing a vital and pivotal role in developing these young people so that they can take advantage of what the Territory has to offer. Without the proper foundation you can make all the laws you want and your people will not grow. Let us wake up, wise up and rise up, leave the damn ignorance alone.
myron u a good man but you gots to go why u bringing in all these expacts children from abroad to go our public schools where is the law. dont give me wrong if you born here you one of we . i saw expacts sending for them kids from abroad and getting easy access in our public schools. this need to be fix we done dont have space for our very own children . dozens by dozens they coming in . hurry up fahie i know u going fix this mess.
Myron bringing children here? Where’s the evidence to support this? You all people cannot be serious!
What mess Fahie will fix? Be very careful what you wish for, be very careful! I remember in 2007 everyone was talking like this and saying NDP got to go, VIP will build back the BVI. I don’t have to remind anyone about what happened.
change… are you able to articulate properly? your grammar is embarrassingly bad….lets hope you weren’t educated here otherwise I’d be extremely concerned….
The ex pats are paying twice as much tax as locals for the privilege of sending their children to the BVIs generally lousy schools.
Why bring them to the BVI to enroll them in lousy schools? Hint! Hint!
Actions speak louder than self serving words.
@Change, I swear if I was near you, I would clock you in the jaw for being such a simpleton.There are thousands of expact children going to public school here in Maryland and no one is bi**hing about it.They are all welcome. No one cares if they are expacts children.
Good for Maryland. We don’t want that here.
Liar Liar pants on fire!!!!!
Baron Samedi speaks the truth – apart from when he doesn’t.
What I heard you say is in essence “if you had to ask your parents where they wished to be born, they would say the BVI”. Had to hit my ears when I heard that nonsense come from your mouth. As much as your parents enjoyed living in the BVI for the time that they did, I doubt that they were sorry that they were not born here. That isn’t something for you to say. BVI is just another place on a huge map. I’m sure they also loved where they were born and appreciated having the best of both worlds (bless their souls).
To all of us, I wonder if when God calls us he will call the BVI to come forth first or we will get status in eternity based on where we were born. We need stop this crap. BVI ain’t better than nowhere else, and nowhere else better than BVI. We are equal. In Genesis, the first place I read that God gave a name was the Garden of Eden.
God is coming very soon
Is he waiting for a taxi?
Myron,Orlando and mark frig up the system the entire system thats the bottom line. And of questions. And they must go.
Mr. Walywn is being treated in the same fashion Barack Obama was.
1. Both are natural born citizens of their country.
2. Both are qualified to be elected to the highest political office of their country.
3. Persons are unjustifiably persecuting Mr. Walywn although he has been elected to Parliament…and is eligible for the Premiership should he command a majority of seats.
4. Is Mr.Walywn supposed to provide and display, like Obama, a Certified Copy of His Birth Paper for public perusal?
Come on…people…Stop it!
It looks and sounds Bad: especially since it is Black Politicians and People Attacking Each Other.
Unnecessarily!
We feel your pain because we live our/your struggle.
Unfortunately, what we live today has psychologically been established centuries ago.
Today, we now unconsciously do the work for the coloniser and imperialist. The work of keeping us divided by name, region, place of birth, shade of skin, etc..
We will see each other as brothers and sisters. Our minds will not let us.
A
PLEASE DON’T EVER COMPARE A MAN OF INTEGRITY TO THIS DEMON EVER AGAIN
The problem with too many B.V.Islanders is their xenophobia.
The World is no longer a Village.
It is an open secret that the MEC is the dog whistler-in-chief. It is not a dog whistle anymore; it is now a bull horn.
My mother is a BVIslander and has a number of persons employed as well, so you are not telling me what I do not know. I am FULLY aware of the KSA model and what soft skills are necessary, but many of us as BVIslanders as genuinely hard workers but are being labelled FALSELY and I refuse to accept it from the likes of those do come with big attitudes giving just eye service and steal every opportunity they get. But I still maintain that we are overlooked time and time again even when we are qualified and DEMONSTRATED our worth in previous jobs and that’s a FACT!!!
Myron “THE DIV—-R” is at it again.
CLICK LIKE IF YOU EVER HAD A EXPAT TRY TO BLACKMAIL YOU IN THE WORKPLACE!?