BVI News

Penn questions gov’t SAP, Premier’s travel expenses

Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn has questioned the government’s need to push through a $14 million Schedule of Additional Provisions (SAP) through the House of Assembly (HOA) without consulting with the Opposition.

Penn recently accused Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley and his government of moving legislation through the House hastily — including the recent Trade Commission Suspension Act and the Jury Act — without consultation and said this was one of the reasons that the opposition staged a walkout from the HOA.

“[The SAP] included $14 million in additional spending that none of us saw prior to him (the Premier) making those decisions. Enough is enough,” Penn said recently.

According to Penn, successive administrations have attempted to ‘bulldoze’ legislation through the House and treat the opposition with this type of poor behaviour.

Meanwhile, Penn accused the Premier and his government of going on a world tour and questioned the need for Premier Wheatley to request $100,000 for travel expenses with just two months left in the year.

“The issue of the Trade Commission suspension has implications. The issue of the Jury Act has implications. The issue of a 14 million dollar provisional spending without no consultation, without no discussion, brought to the House in the cloak of darkness, with $100,000 in that for the Premier for travel, two months left in the year… You going around the world on a world tour?”

The government has come in for much flak in recent months for the amount of travel being done, but Premier Wheatley rubbished those concerns recently and said it was a convenient opposition narrative.

Dr Wheatley also argued that the government must travel if it wants to have the territory’s interests represented adequately.

“You go to international meetings where you’re fighting for your interest and your place in the world and inevitably, you have to pay for aeroplanes and you have to pay for hotels,” the Premier argued.

He added: “The further you travel, the more expensive it gets. So, sometimes I don’t think it serves our interests well to create a narrative. You know that there are other better things to do than travel.”

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13 Comments

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  1. BLAME LORNA says:

    FOR ALL THIS MESS

  2. Essential says:

    HOA Christmas shopping trips in London

    Like 14
  3. Hmmm says:

    We have no one but ourselves to blame as he wasn’t performing during his first term and yet we put him back for a second term to become fully pensionable for life for doing nothing but travelling.

    Like 25
  4. Wow says:

    Dey buy out the election with the stimulus hand out now the whole country gah suffer for another 4 yrs

  5. Wow. says:

    All being played out just as they said they would, right before the public’s eyes, and it is seeing nor saying not. Where will be the final destination after a overnent has created another set of million if not billionaires?

  6. Huh? says:

    The government must travel but he don’t see nothing wrong with $100,000 at the end of the year? $100,000? Nah man. Not even Drew would have done that. This is ridiculously crazy. Well Tis a crazy man anyway.

  7. Ironic says:

    The sad thing to note is that we have a kettle calling the pot black.

    Like 1
    Dislike 1
  8. Think says:

    Respect is earned and that boat has past.

  9. Uk says:

    Please help. Please suspend the constitution. Please enact the order in council and please start taking the steps to end this madness before the whole place collapses in debt.

    Like 2
    Dislike 1
  10. @Hmmm says:

    Living exactly as it was stipulated in social media. planned and now being executed.

    Every local VIslander was taken for a long ride.

    But, that is what happens when your people put their faith in, hoping you would do good by them.

    Well, we seeing now, ain’t we?

    Think if every voter, business and other groups were aware of, they still would not have voted differently.

    So, hey sold us the goos we have. So, we cpmplain on here, that’s all we can do. Folks ain go rebell, protest and cause havoc. That is aknown fact.

    Like 1
    Dislike 0
  11. Who to blame says:

    Ayo vote dem in so tex wey ayo get
    Your vote has consequences. 4 years of misery

  12. @Uk says:

    Start with having every UK person leave the island immediately.

    Draft immediate legislation to sever all ties with IK.

    Dratf emergency legislation to implement self governing mechamisms.

    Nobod want to live everyday with te spectre of being enslaved and reduced to less than animal existence again. Never, ever!!

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