Persons finding legal loopholes to circumvent our laws
Junior Minister for Trade Shereen Flax-Charles has raised concern that persons are circumventing various local laws by finding loopholes to achieve their goals.
Speaking in the House of Assembly (HOA) recently, the legislator said this type of practise has been happening for decades.
“A lot of times I see it happening. A bill is passed … and somebody finds a loophole where they can now skirt around or evade what is in that bill,” Flax-Charles stated.
“I’ve seen it happen in [the] Trade [Department], where licenses have been denied, but somebody found a way to use a Belonger … in order to get what they wanted,” the Junior Minister added.
She cautioned that these are the types things legislators need to guard against and urged that they should move to protect citizens, elected officials, and public officials from such pitfalls.
More meaningful engagement
The legislator also suggested there should be more meaningful public engagement in helping to mould legislation before it passes through the House.
According to Flax-Charles, after the first reading of the Integrity in Public Life bill, the government embarked on a series of public meetings.
She recalled one meeting where only two persons showed up in person, while a further 12 persons participated online through Facebook.
“When those two individuals came into that meeting, I overheard one of them saying, ‘well I am not staying here, there are no refreshments here. They didn’t bring anything to eat or drink.
The legislator argued that the government was simply trying to educate the public about the bill in question.
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Man waan food!!
“ The legislator argued that the government was simply trying to educate the public about the bill in question.”. That’s the problem right there. The Government never asks us what we think should be made law… what they do is “educate “ us about what the law will be. It’s always been like this.
It’s a cynical way of looking as though you are democratic when
you are nothing of the sort.
There’s no such thing as a legal loophole. There’s only legal and illegal. If our government was competent their laws would be watertight
At the end of the day, a “Belanger” got the license which is 100% legal. Bring the proof that’s showing that same person who was denied is “using” that said belonger.
USE the Belonger, he did it with his free will and most probably got compensated, nice job if you can get it.
It can happened.
Is has happened then and will continue to happen.
It is not illegal to use a brlonger.
If the belonged use their Britain that the almighty given them.
Perhaps, if the government treated that engagement meaningfully, people would attend.
In the Trade And Investment Act meetings multiple different groups brought up the same consistent concerns. The Government’s response was “Noted. We are going to pass the law anyway and fix it later”.
This is not how public consultation works and people will not waste their time contributing if it goes nowhere. They also won’t vote for you again.
trying to stay relevant
Citizens not following any of the actual rules and laws currently in place? Can we focus on this please first? Littering, speeding, drug trade, illegal building, child abuse, corruption and fraud within government etc..
“Somebody found a way to use a belonger” You folks never cease to amaze with your choice of words, statements and references. People actually voted for you guys?
Lets not pretend. People come into the territory, use belongers as the face of their business to get past the higher fees and scrutiny, then drop them a few years later after the business becomes established. Its mutually beneficial, but its wrong.
call a spade a spade.
Of course it is real, but the Belongers are to blame. Stop fronting for people? If you only check the amount of BVI men who own beauty solons. Neither them nore the hairdressers can dress hair. (throw back head and LOL)
Don’t forget bars and strip clubs. The latter being illegal in the country.
How interesting they reduced a very important item to minute print, a belonger obtained a license a non belonger could not get. When will this racially motivated, discriminatory country wake up to the fact that laws have to apply equally to everyone, that’s part of the reason we had the COI in the first place. After all, this is a British territory and the net is closing on those that refuse to behave like honest British citizens.
When our mother country England stops the same practices.
You have no idea what you are talking about, the laws in the UK apply to everyone with a British passport. It does not matter what color, or, religion you are, or, where you were born, if you have a British passport the playing field is level for everyone.
British laws apply to all people in Britain,
not just British people.
In the BVI, “policy” is applied in place of the law, the law is ignored and unenforced in the service of political interests and some persons are apparently above the law altogether.
There is not such thing as a legal loophole. If the law does not prevent it you can do it. Make better laws!!!
If it was an all inclusive bill it will have minimal issues. Since it stands that so many are being excluded well money like water will make its own course.
what is the problem? I cannot see if the natives want to be paid for being a frontier to allowing a non- BVI to acquire a license to invest their money is a problem. When those business laws are put into the books and no one object it is then passed. If they new cabinet think to leave it there for years and now another cabinet wants to change it, then do so. Create point of interest to accommodate a prison term if the native is found as a frontier. Another would be that the license will have to go through the normal way or dismissed.
It would have been wise to table a change on how licenses are issue and more investigation done on the individual. More business laws, policies and so forth are brought to the house that are meaning ful and precise.
Those same legal loop holes were devised and advised by the staff of the trade department. Very often belongers would appply with non-belongers but yall give the licence to the belonger only and have the non-belongers name on record and yall full well know that the business is being operated by the both of them. Yall frequently do it with husband and wife non-belonger/belonger. so please. it’s not the people it is a situation the BVI Government and their employees created
This is silly and against the rights of the individual. If a license application is made for two person, why in God’s green earth would not both names be printed on the license? First, it affect the person who name has not been printed, in many ways of trading, he cannot go to the bank presenting his name on any document that he is also a partner in business for any financial benefits.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1 The Right to Equality and Article 3. The Right to Life, Liberty and Personal Security. This should have bring caution to the person who allow the decision. Many people who worked in these government office do not know of some of its procedures. If this is done to have social control it is infringing on the person rights.
So if Government ministers can find legal loop holes in our laws and constitution why can’t the public? If it is good for the goose it is good for the gander.
The greatest teacher is one ‘s example . The government leader and leaders are the ones who set the pace .
Who breach the laws more than them.
Look at the disregard for the AG ruling on the Esteem and paying his dues
Yet still no one on the team obeying the law . Well sah . This is such a hilarious govt . Interest turn of events
Look at the blatant disregard
Nobody is pretending. I didn’t say it wasn’t true. But how does one come here and use a belonger if the belonger doesn’t want to be ‘used’? Both party benefits. Naturally the smarter one might benefit more in the long run. Either way the belonger usually hold all the cards ain’t that so? It is the statements made by these folks that causes the never ending battle between belonger and expat. English is important. Sentence structure and choice of words have great impact.
The Belonger is never wrong. “they Use the Belonger”.
Lets call it as it is. The Belonger is paid handsomely in cash or kind for such action but you do not want to persecute the Belonger you want to persecute the outsider. On the flip side I don’t have to know about a business. I can get a business license and enter into a partnership with someone to operate the business or employ someone to operate the business.
Start in the House of Assembly by telling your colleague(s) *** that he needs to resign for his breach of the constitution with those contracts that he did not declare. Handle that first and then come to the rest of us.
You mean like the government tender process. Rather then 1 proper contract we just split it up to 3 under 100k and give to our friends and family with no tender process… Lead By Example !!
No BVIslander should require a license to run a business. Yes, you may need to get regulatory approval (e.g. alcohol license) or you may need to demonstrate some qualifications (e.g. be a chartered accountant) but this idea of a “trade license” is an island thing and most countries do not restrict commerce in this way. If there is a licensing requirement, then it is an objective process (complete and submit necessary form, pay necessary fee). What annoys me is that many BVIslanders are themselves denied trade licenses because they have the wrong surname or because someone with the right surname already operates in that sector and doesnt want any competition.
This whole process is discriminatory and unfair for BVIslanders, especially young people starting out: they have to find a gap in the market to be able to get a trade license.
On the other hand, I can appreciate why non-BVIslanders arent just allowed to set up shop. That is reasonable and protects BVIslanders as it should do. What is unfair about the current system that the granting of trade licenses is extremely opaque and the rules arent applied uniformly or fairly. Applicants are told “go away and come back with X in place” and when they come back with X in place, then another problem is found.
The department should be focused on encouraging commerce and economic growth but instead seems to have a MO of stopping business start ups (for locals and foreigners). They are slow, inefficient and do not communicate.
The whole process is unfit for purpose, byzantine and rife for corruption (because that is the only way most things involving government get done around here).
And VW is the biggest culprit of all times!