No equity! VIP must account for mismanagement — Penn
The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) government must account for the inequity that has taken place under its watch, particularly with regard to the allocation of the territory’s resources as it relates to infrastructure development.
That was the sentiment shared by current Health Minister and National Democratic Party (NDP) Chairman, Marlon Penn when he appeared on the NDP Radio programme last evening, March 27.
According to Penn, all the major infrastructure work done in the territory over the past four years has been on the back of a $65 million loan secured by the NDP government from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) when it was in office previously.
Penn accused the government of taking some $22 million from the consolidated fund that could have been better placed into the capital expenditure of the budget to address the territory’s dire road issues.
Nothing to advance road agenda
He said the Recovery & Development Agency (RDA) that was established just before the NDP’s departure in 2019, was developed and designed to have the flexibility to address issues such as the infrastructural challenges facing the territory.
“This government, in all fairness, has done nothing to move the agenda of roads forward,” Penn argued.
He added: “It shows the lack of a vision, the lack of a plan to get these things done, and for us, they have to account for how they mismanaged the resources of this country and not put it towards the major national development issues that we needed to develop for the people of the country moving forward.”
He said the RDA should now be transformed into a national development agency to handle the infrastructure challenges facing the BVI.
Inequity in distribution of expenditure
In the meantime, Penn contended that there has also been inequity in the distribution of capital expenditure under the VIP government during its time in office, arguing that politics has been injected into the territory’s national development programme.
“You have a challenge where now you have a District [Representative] that is a Minister – and I’m going to reveal the numbers, in terms of how the capital expenditure budget was spent by the Minister of Communication and Works in this territory. It’s going to come out to the public,” Penn said.
“It shows that there’s no equity in the process. We have to ensure that… all the people in this country pay their taxes and deserve good roads; even the tertiary roads,” he argued.
Penn also shared that the NDP has put forward a proposal that there should be a proper budgetary allocation for roads within the various districts.
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PLEASE DONOT VOTE FOR ANY OF THE VIP CANDIDATES
One of the most important elections in BVI’s history but the candidates seeking office are all weak. BVI, we are at a crossroad.
I REALLY CAN’T SEE ANYTHING CHANGING IN THE COMING YEARS WITH ANY OF THESE CANDIDATES. Help us Lord!!!
I refer to the statement that Hon. Marlon Penn is making mention to that VIP must account for “MISMANAGEMENT” I must that when you are in a glass house please don’t throw any stone. I truly believed that everyone should be “ACCOUNTANTABLE FOR ALL THEIR ACTION” but Hon. Penn you are forgetting that one of your running colleague also “MISMANAGED” government funds and has a case before the court and he is allowed to be a leader of the country.You have another one who were also there for over 20 plus years and now again decided that he should be a leader. (He also allowed the district to be ruined and the sewage but are casting blame and faults on the one that is there. Please be mindful of all that you did before and stop pointing fingers and calling each other names.” How can humans that God created be calling other people such names as “PIGS” and there are still saying that they are “TRUE LEADERS” THAT IS SUCH A SHAME AND GOD IS NOT PLEASE AT ALL. All of you all are doing the same thing over and over. You all are out there calling down each other and not realizing the damaged that is been done to the generation. This is not of GOD but you all are bringing GOD into all the mess without having a serious changed of HEART. For God says that our HEARTS are desperately wicked above all things who can know it….only God knows our hearts. It would be more pleasing if ALL of the “POLITICIAN” tell the people what are they plans for the country and “STOP THE NONSENSE”. Remember we are not perfect but if you promise to please God then YOU will also be true and faithful in your living. I wish all of them the best but God is in “CONTROL” and God sees everything like he knows the heart of “MANKIND. To many of you all are just about YOURSELVES AND VERY GREEDY WHILE OTHERS ARE BARELY making ends meets and you are saying that you cares. Please stop the “LYING AND NONSENSE AND GET REAL. GOD ALMIGHTY SITS UP SO HIGH AND HE LOOKS DOWN UPON US BUT REMEMBER GOD SETS UP AND HE WILL TAKE YOU ALL DOWN THE HARD WAY TOO.
I am voting everything against VIP
This man was Minister of Health for almost 1 year, what has he done? He is acting as if he wasn’t part of the same VIP Administration for the past 11 months. This whole talk about Unity Government is nonsense, Mitch and Marlon joined the VIP Government and became Ministers in Cabinet, call it what you want but it is what it is. If VIP was so bad why did Marlon and Mitch stay with them and even praised Sowande for his leadership?
We need an intelligent , forceful, caring person as Premier.
Lorna Smith is that person.
What about the ndp record 7.2 m plane, 1.6 m wall, 40 m over run on pier project and 2 million in Consutant at air port with the Trini guy?
What about Lorna contracts?
Vote VIP…
get
Direct rule by the UK.
Cant be
Come go VG tell us abou the Toad hall deal/
Hon Penn please can you also let us know the figures for how much of our tax dollars the VIP used to pay the obeah man and the people who were assigned to put up the green flags on the poles. Maybe the transactions dated around the times the former premier had to travel would reveal a lot. I also saw in the US indictment that he was meeting the obeah man in St Martin. Would you have records of all dates and flights that he took that included the St. Martin route and who was traveling with him. This might reveal plenty too.
Penn should not in all honesty speak about mismanagement because NDP to this day told the public where is that aeroplane
Can Penn stand publicly and tell the people why the 8 million dollars assigned for fixing sewage in east end was never used and fix the sewage project
Pier park over 20 million in over run yet that project still sitting in limbo: tell the people Hon Penn
Tell about the toad hall/chateau/land adjacent deals millions I’m from V.G
60 million dollars blown
How much longer are we going to labour the point about a plane when the matter is in court. There is a sea trade conference going on right now, did we send any representatives to it? The pier park is what is helping a lot of families to eat..the money for the sewerage was put back…we need to move on
Everybody going on about a bloody wall but how many walls does the 52-units at Joe’s hill have? And you know what the premier called it? A MISTAKE! A MISTAKE?? Yet he have somebody giving nursery rhymes about ‘humpy dumpy’and not even the bleeding name they can get right! If humpy dumpy sat on a wall then who the hell sitting on the walls of the 52 units at Joes Hill? When you follow the crowd and not think for yourself, you risk looking and sounding like them which is not necessarily a good thing. That’s why we got to be careful and think!
If you still think the Pier Park and cruise pier was expensive have you seen the price tag on the market at nearly $2m?
I think there is a Lashing Dogs song about thus.
Unfortunately, in the BVI, the answer is always ‘someone else’.
We need change! We need politicians that are ACCOUNTABLE.
This place is broken. We need elect people that can fix our problems, not just point at the other guy!
The VIP surpassed that with the 60million for Social Security, the over 22 million in grants and scholarships, the millions in barges, the millions in bodyguards, the millions on the Joes Hill “can’t get a home sold” project, all in as little as 3 very short years.
7.2 million was a very bad deal and the Government won the lawsuit against the lawyer! The Million for the wall give work to some 70+ contractors thereby feeding 70+ families. The 40 million overrun on the pier park, at least we have a pier park where it is expected to bring in at east 1 million per year!
what that is good for the goose is good for the gander, if you live in a glass house, ey nah hear? Don’t throw stones.
Did Marlon say mismanagement he must have made a mistake because under the NPD this country had the worst and I mean the worst mismanagement compare to the VIP, ask ourselves why we can’t borrow ask ourselves where is the 7 million dollars, cruise pier, high school wall sewage system? Be quiet only the deaf and the blind you can fool.
@@Asking for myself, Two wrongs don’t make a right.
@Blind man,You are really the Blind Man if you think the NDP mismanagement was worst compare to the VIP.
I am not an NDP fan but compair to the VIP they were Alter Boys.
Not one of these candidates have a plan to chart the development of these island. They just throwing words at each other and come next year we are in the same place with the same old bumpy roads. Imagin election approaching and they have dirt throwing in the potholes in west end. Shameful. Everybody just wants to get elected so they can Collect their half $ million and their big monthly pension and care not one bit about how they rape the resources of the country. There is nobody in this batch that truly deserves a single vote. Come with a plan to revamp the road infrastructure, sewage, water, health, education, revenue, and economic activity. Not one of them has presented anything along this line. They are just throwing words into not air. We deserve more than that.
Our options aren’t looking good. We either go back to the guys that lost $7.2 million on the plane or stick with the guys that pay Claude to do nothing.
Here we are, a mere 3 weeks before elections and none of the candidates have the respect or foresight to provide us with any plans/rendering for upgraded infrastructure anywhere in the Territory. All we get are videos, memes and blame bullshit but nothing of substance with respect to the Territory. People should just stay home on the 24th as a vote of no confidence.
Blind man is you! Are you serious???????????
Lorna cares only about Lorna periodt. Who don’t know will learn.
..not true. There is a lot of information on ndpbvisolutions.com ..all plans, bios, everything.
What did marlon accomplish as minister?
Marlon so weak. Where he? You can’t hardly see he anywhere. He abandon Myron after is he who vote for the Greedy Bill. Frighten and all he could do is talk about pig with lipstick. Come better. You can’t even get a full slate. People ain going follow weak leaders.
He hasn’t done anything for District 8