Penn blasts Premier for blaming NDP over water crisis
Opposition Leader Marlon Penn (left) and Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley.
Opposition Leader Marlon Penn has criticised Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley for blaming the former National Democratic Party (NDP) administration for the BVI’s continuing water crisis, arguing that the government has had sufficient time and resources to address the problem.
Speaking on NDP Radio on Wednesday, October 7, Penn accused the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) administration of failing to take responsibility for deteriorating water services despite being in office since 2019.
“It’s a shame. It’s a travesty. And leadership leads,” Penn stated. “You don’t blame someone else for not doing what you’re supposed to do.”
Penn made the comments after the Premier’s recent criticism of the former NDP government for prioritising other projects over water infrastructure. The opposition leader questioned why the administration kept blaming its predecessors for the territory’s water problems when it had controlled government spending for several years.
Penn claimed the VIP administration had received close to $50 million for water infrastructure over the past seven years, yet residents continued to experience worsening service.
“They’ve had close to $50 million to spend on water infrastructure over the last seven years that they’ve been in office,” Penn stated.
He also referred to a further $13 million that he said the responsible minister recently announced for water infrastructure.
Penn pointed to Jost Van Dyke, where residents have faced prolonged difficulties accessing a reliable water supply. He recalled visiting the island and seeing water escaping from a damaged pipeline while households struggled to receive water. The opposition legislator also criticised the government’s decision to provide a standpipe as a temporary water source for residents.
He argued that the government’s declaration of a water emergency in June 2025 should have enabled officials to procure equipment and materials more quickly to repair damaged infrastructure. Penn maintained that the government needed to prioritise repairs to the distribution network rather than continue offering explanations for the situation.
He also criticised the administration’s approach to infrastructure development, citing road projects where water pipes had not been replaced before construction. The opposition legislator said the NDP was developing a systematic approach to repairing the water distribution network, beginning with individual communities and expanding improvements across the territory.
“We’re focused on an approach that we feel is a workable approach to deliver consistent supply of water to people throughout this territory,” Penn stated.
Criticism of the Premier follows his recent appearance on Virgin Islands Voice, where he argued that the former NDP administration prioritised the hospital and Cyril B Romney Tortola Pier Park over improvements to the water distribution network. He also defended his government’s infrastructure investments, including funding from its $100 million loan.
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Both must accept blame and take responsibility for our water woes. This isn’t just a “today” problem.
Loving your afrocentric outfit Mr Premier.
Makes you doubly a handsome statesman,serious and knowledgeable of what matters.
Please,dressing like so a lil more often.
Have a good day and may the Forces be with you!
ARE U SUPPRISED “BIG youth” got you dangling bon a string like a puppet a d he’s bring the circus to flex off his arrogance on ya’al so get accustom and practice your dance moves before the circus comes . Hopefully we’ll see him on stage performing his puppet master role on ya’al like how he did his ting with vybes kartel on stage .
Just looking at this picture of these two makes me both sick and sad. Here we have two men who were raised in hardworking BVI homes, yet years later we are still arguing about who is to blame instead of who is going to fix the problem. Leadership is about taking responsibility, not passing it back and forth.
Water shortages should never be in the BVI’s deck of cards. We come from well water carriers and salt pickers, people who understood resilience and resourcefulness. So why does it feel as though we are going backward instead of forward?
How can we attract investment, business, and the kind of growth we aspire to when communities are still dealing with sewage issues and unreliable water supplies? We deserve more than political finger-pointing. We need real solutions, not excuses.
The conversation should not be about who failed yesterday, but who is prepared to fix it today. We need a complete overhaul of how we get this country back on track across all sectors, because the reality is that we are falling behind and fast.
When you see cousins arguing safeguard yourself.
NDP SOLD BIWATER TO THEIR RICH FRIENDS
Smurf shaddup! You just looking another free taxpayer shopping trip abroad.
Ndp vs Vip
Dumb vs Dumber
Don’t matter both of y’all messing up the country
The vip been in power for 2 terms and 8 yrs now and all Natalio knows how to do is blame ndp. This guy is not a leader, ndp don’t even have a functioning party. It’s best some random joe off the street run this country
you see them two there…. they are cousins and Marlon will join VIP one day… tell them Trump say so