Dr Wheatley sworn in as Premier! New cross-party gov’t also installed
It’s official! Dr Natalio Wheatley is the new Premier and Minister of Finance of the British Virgin Islands.
He was sworn in at Government House moments ago after Governor John Rankin revoked the appointment of disgraced Premier, Andrew Fahie, from that post.
Delivering his first address as Premier at the swearing in ceremony, Dr Wheatley said: “I’m very proud to stand before you today, now officially as Premier of the Virgin Islands. As Premier, I pledge to carry out my duties of office with honesty and integrity and to always do what is in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands.”
“I am also proud to lead this National Unity Government that reflects the hunger in our community for unity. This swearing ceremony represents another important and necessary step in the process of renewing our cherished democracy and reforming our institutions and systems of government. It is my hope that this day will be remembered as the day we began a new era of democratic governance in the territory,” Dr Wheatley added.
Other members of the new cross-partisan government have now also been sworn in.
More to come.
New cross-party National Unity Gov’t being proposed to Governor
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What the heck the Governor was doing? For sure he was NOT at all listening to the citizens of the BVI, who have made it abundantly clear that they did not vote for or want this corrupt group to lead the BVI. WTHISGO
No one wants the disgraced Andrew Fahie to continue to claim diplomatic immunity. May his name live in infamy for his greed has set us back several generations.
I thought the same.
@ Wondering
I am sorry. I am with you. The dislikes are an error. The governor, is listening to that small band of bandits. The majority of the people is not in favour of this so called unity government. They are all fake. Please HM Queen Elizabeth, this is not what the masses want, because this going to be business as usual. Please deliver us.
Why have the people opposed to this arrangement failed to protest in the streets? I agree the HOA should be suspended and the Ministers fired, but saying so on Facebook does not help.
Take to the streets.
Unfortunately, many of the people opposed to this are afraid to speak freely. They are public officers and businesspeople/employees who are afraid of retaliation at work, or they are expats on work permits who even though they can’t vote do care deeply about the BVI having lived here for years. Which is why they mostly pop up in comments on these news sites.
People, be still. The silent majority will get a chance to speak. This is not our future. View this as a bridge to the future because the weeding and the filtration will continue. Look toward the elections which must be sooner rather than later. The right leaders will rise and the system will be rebuilt on a foundation of integrity. The breakdown isn’t easy though. It’s chaotic and messy which is where we are now just like in a birth where, in addition to new life, you find pain, blood and sh&t. The pain subsides and the baby is cleaned up. My faith tells me we have wandered for too long in the wilderness and it is time to return home. Far too long and God has come to rescue us. That big snatch He snatch way the ladder from under the feet of the big boy leh he fall so far from grace he bruk he buhine, een just for so. It is a message He een playing and it heralds the beginning of meaningful change. Watch and study and be prepared to participate actively in this process of change by demonstration in the streets as led by your conscience, and/or by the exercise of a vote. The silent majority (don’t you just love the person who wrote that piece and coined this phrase?) will be heard. God is forever with us.
It seems that the Governor is away. Hum….??? Why the rush?
We will watch and wait. Thank you!
Felicidades a hora puedes ayudar a el emigrante y más los k pasamos de 20 años yo tengo 21 y sigo pagando contracto
Wow!!! We don’t know which one of them to trust SMH
Crap. Marlon should of get deputy
It’s good to see Virgin Islanders unite to face and solve our problems together. All the nonsense that happened as each of these young members stood the party line is why we are here today but moving forward with clear objective things can be better. No more Fahie to bully and micromanage maybe now they can be who we expected them to be. We shall see. The party politics that came here we were not ready for, and now an independent can stand a chance in elections again. Myron & Ronnie, Faser & Fahie, take look if you had both done this your governments & parties would not have been divided.
Fahiie told the undercover agent that he had to be careful otherwise what he had spent 20 years building could be undermined in 20 minutes. Ironically he now has 20 years behind bars to ruminate his greed with or without his calculator that he, former math teacher, needed to calculate 10% of $78m.
He still a maths teacher man. He just a maths teacher behind bars. I bet he gine be the best maths teacher up in dah max security big yard he will likely call home till he reach retirement age.
LOL. Actually, it was 12% he was offered. Calculator was needed.
Why did the Governor acquiesce and swear them in? This is BS!
Those who oppose need to protest.
This is a mistake. Please all of you now resign and follow the direction of the COI results and contribute to the rebuilding of our country. You tolerated the criminal actions outlined in the 900 page COI report. We want a fresh start. Be gone.
But the FSC ought to be telling us which trust company was used in the money laundering and terrorism financing scheme. The truth will out and we can look reactive again or get in front and demonstrate to FATF etc that we act where there re real, actual issues.
But the UK / Gov still have to approve this departure from the COI recommendations…
But we can’t just shift around some seats and think of this as some far sweeping change. More heads need to roll, more systems need to be put in place to curb our corruption.
The UK knows they can’t do the hard work. That’s the problem, always has been. Just enough to paper over the problems without fixing anything. The vipers are still in the nest and haven’t been purged. They’re talking to the same people for their council. Worst of all they don’t have control of the government, the civil service. All because to do what is right, what is required, none of them has the fortitude to do. That won’t change.
Sorry guys, you’re losing your chance. It was slim to begin with.
When you talk of the proud BVI’landers, I knew them. They were humble, polite to a fault, friendly, and existed needing nothing more then the honor of a days work well done.
Their society was sold by their fellow black man, in the service to the white man, ultimately in the pursuit of money. After two generations this is the result.
A case study.
The problem is these boys love themselves more than they love us. Somehow they think they can just vote themselves back in and everything is OK????
I wish they were just too dumb to figure out they’re caught… But I am afraid they are just too corrupt to stop all the stealing.
Another sad day for the BVI
Congratulations Dr. Wheatley. Very well deserved. All the best in your new role.
Not a constitutional expert but don’t think AF could have been removed without a new appointment and the Govt agree to revoke premier and swear in Sowande. Removing AF had to happen. So it doesn’t meant a decision re direct rule made yet.
When will the Governor tell the 11 recycled politicians that the UK fee is $5,000/week for their ‘honorable’ titles? Please pay the Queen or the Guv in cash, no cheques or cards please.
Also please understand that you 11 are doing this service for the overall good of the VI so you will not be paid any compensation or perks for the next 2 years or more.
Lastly remember that you 11 recycled politicians are now acting for all the good honest voters in the BVI even though you are not one!
How is Natalio picking a government in any way democratic?
Please just bring in the UK to sort us out as this group of clowns will definitely not do it.
Inconsequential to the decisions to be made in UK. What is crystal clear in this proceeding is these ministers swearing their allegiance to the Queen. They were severed from their head, and later conquered.
Problem is, and has been, BVI politicians appear to have pledged allegiance to money, not the Territory or its people, its laws or the Queen. If they had, even slightly, we would not be in these straights. They all need to go, and a fresh start is needed. Not easy for sure, but the writing has been on the wall for years but no one did much about it. As they sow, so they reap.
All of them have family members who has done illegal things
I’m sure the previous Premier claimed the same statement…..”As Premier, I pledge to carry out my duties of office with honesty and integrity and to always do what is in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands”
Now undo the traffic redirection
Leave the Joes Hiil going down on main street as it is.
But undo everything else.
Why Governor Rankin? Why Governor Rankin have you sworn these people in without the citizens of the BVI’s approval? WOW
Congratulations, Dr. Natalio Sowande Wheatley!!!
All of them sat by and did nothing while their friends, family members and colleagues engaged in God knows what sorts of corrupt, vile enterprises for God knows how many years. Each government after the other no better than the last, a well trodden path of corruption. Fahie merely carried on where others left off, and all these “honourable” people benefited. None of them should be anywhere near the HoA.
All you relax no! Stop sweating. This entire shenanigan is going to be short lived. Can anyone see that they are one and the same. All ‘Families’ Trumpism’ at its best. UK ?? response coming soon. Gov. smiling at their stupidity.
Those who enabled AF now enable UK the thirty pieces of silver have been agreed and taken, now the dirty work begins Ceaser has clean hands , classic Empire move.
It seems that the Governor is away. Hum….??? Why the rush?
With this new Govt. Please tell us how much money is in the bank .
where is Vincent ? is he late for duty or exercising his discretion?
So, just like that The COI Report’s Recommendation to suspend the Constitution is blown away. Wow, what a waste of time and millions of dollars? A few screamers, ranting lies have scared The Governor and Ms Milling in to submission, grovelingly Rankin smiled with each new member of the laughable, “Unity Party”. So “Thats All Folks!”. Rankin never even addressed the Immunity Letter that WAS sent from the Premier’s Office. Nope, just ignore that HUGE CRIMINAL OFFENSE and reward Natalio and his gang of screamers! All hope for a better cleaned up BVI, is lost, the corrupt have won and that, is that.
Is it within BVI Constitution for a new government (National Unity Government) to be installed without a public vote?
Unfortunately it is. These people were all democratically elected in the last election and they are merely shuffling around their ministries. They can only stay in office, at most, until February 2023, however, when another election is due.
What is the point of Higginbottom’s work if all that happens is the same crew who have given us no high school since Irma, bad roads and sewage in the streets remain in Government? What a waste of time and money.
There was a real opportunity to make some fundamental changes to a system that did not work, and which squandered the billions generated since the 1980s.
The UK seems to have thrown away that opportunity. It has abdicated its responsibilities to those that live here. It is shameful.
Big bad UK goes out with whimper and at day’s end did NOTHING! What a waste of time. What little respect I had left for the United Kingdom has gone up in smoke!
You let a set of greedy, noisy, selfish people who are very much in the minority on their opinions hijack all hope for those of us that are very much n the majority and deserve so much better.
Elections are due in about a year. Let us speak at the polls
But not the taxpayers with no vote. That is why BVI is broken. The tiny electorate is too easy to manipulate with gifts, so the same self-serving clique get re-cycled.
Please allow the Unity Party to prove themselves worthy until the next election. We will be watching closely. The BVI have learnt their lesson IMO…but we will see if this window of performance is granted
I don’t understand how this group of cr**ks are supposed to lead a country!!! They need to go ! UK needs to step in clean up the mess thAt these group of people were a huge part of making and bring forth a new generation of leaders.
I don’t even understand how the governor agreed to this ? Makes me think he got bought off!!
How does Wheatley get a chance to run an entire territory when he can’t even fix facilities for children to go to school safely ?!? SMH
Andrew boy you make me $#!+ with shame. My advice to you is to have your family purchased a property in Ethiopia before your release so you can head that way….as you will not be able to face the people of the be we eye…..
.
No wonder when the children graduate from high school and leave they don’t want to come back home. The whole world is corrupt, but for such a small territory to be disgraced by such greed and corruption is unspeakable. When one returns home and is looking for a job, you are told there are no positions, no matter what degrees or experience you have. The job are already claimed for the corrupt. When you put two or more corrupt parties together you get nothing but more corruption. Why would you people allow the the COI or whoever gave Wheatley the position to also allow the other corrupt parties to join in. The whole world is watching and waiting to see how strong the people of the BVI are. STAND UP, SPEAK UP, CLEAN HOUSE.