Make Ronnie Finance Minister, Skelton Cline urges

Talk show host Claude Skelton Cline has, once again, urged Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley to consider appointing Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton as Finance Minister within the Virgin Islands Party-led government.

Skelton Cline made the plea on his Honestly Speaking radio show yesterday, arguing that appointing Skelton, who previously held the Finance portfolio under the National Democratic Party (NDP) administration, would be a bold step in enhancing governance and national development.

Ronnie Skelton, who currently leads the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM), is regarded as an experienced statesman with extensive knowledge of financial governance. However, it remains unclear whether he would accept such an offer if approached.

Skelton Cline reasoned that the Opposition Leader, who is also his uncle, possesses the expertise needed to optimise government spending and implement effective financial strategies.

“If I were the Premier, I would invite the Leader of the Opposition to join the government as Minister of Finance,” Skelton Cline said. He suggested this could help expedite spending of the $100 million loan recently made available for development projects.

Overly bureaucratic

He argued that the current mechanisms for spending these funds were overly bureaucratic and hindered progress.

Skelton Cline acknowledged that his recommendation might be contentious, but he urged the government to prioritise effective governance over political rivalry.

“We need someone, Premier, who is behind you and who has a history of knowing how to move the ball down the field,” he contended. “These are the kinds of hard decisions that have to be made. These are the elephants that are in the room… this is not the only way, but… I think it’s the most credible way to unify this country.”

Dreams of a national unity government

The talk show host noted that having a national unity government could help bridge the political divide and bring greater efficiency to governance. He proposed that a current minister could step aside temporarily to make room for Skelton in the Cabinet. “Premier, take my stupid advice,” he urged.

Skelton Cline also addressed potential criticisms of his proposal. “Some of you are not going to like it because you’re going to say, ‘If you put them over there, now it’s going to be hard to beat them.’ I’m not interested in you beating the government,” he said. “Right now, I am interested in this country working for the good of all of us,” he said.