BVI News

Premier didn’t follow law in removing Climate Change board members?

Premier Andrew Fahie

Just weeks after getting elected, Premier Andrew Fahie reportedly removed all non-government members of the Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF) Board. But based on what the Commission of Inquiry (COI) was made to understand when they probed the issue yesterday, the Premier may have discharged the board members in a way that is not in accordance with the law.

According to Section 16 of the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund Act, the responsible minister may revoke the appointment of a member if they are guilty of misconduct, failed to attend four consecutive meetings without permission, knowingly failed to notify the Board of a conflict of interest, no longer fulfils the conditions of appointment, or acts in a way that is detrimental to the Trust.

Former board chairman, Edward Childs told the COI that none of those things applied to the six non-government members that were pushed out.

“It was very clear that what we were being asked to do was not in agreement with the wording within of the Act,” Childs stated.

How they were removed

The COI learnt that the Premier sent letters to each of the six non-government members of the Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF) Board.

According to the letter read yesterday by COI attorney, Bilal Rawat, board members were thanked for their service and promptly asked to submit their resignation letters within a week.

However, the members found this to be a counterproductive exercise. Bearing that in mind, Childs said members, instead, offered to meet with the Premier about the work they had accomplished over the previous two years.

“We decided to reach back to the Premier and request a meeting to explain what we had been up to, what we were doing – just give him more information – and hope that we would have an audience,” Childs told the COI.

No response, institutional knowledge lost

He further indicated to the COI that the board also felt as if it was impractical to let go of all members simultaneously, thereby removing a significant amount of the board’s institutional knowledge in one fell swoop and losing all its collective expertise.

“If I had been asked to step down, I would have no issue with that at all. But I think we just felt that it was wrong for everybody to step down at the same time,” Childs stated.

But despite the efforts and pleas of the board, the Premier was reportedly unmoved. So much so, that their hand-delivered letter to the Premier Fahie’s office remains unanswered to this day.

Childs told the COI that there was no communication at all received and board members never resigned.

“The next thing we heard was — I believe it was minutes of a Cabinet meeting that were made public — just advising that the Climate Change Trust Fund members had been taken off the board,” Childs stated.

He further said the board has not been reconstituted since and appears to be defunct presently.

Editor’s Note:
The Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund was legally established in March 2015 as an independent entity dedicated to raising, managing and disbursing funds to qualified applicants to build resilience to climate change impacts and to reduce carbon emissions. The Trust Fund can support actions by Government, the private sector and civil society.

Follow BVI New’s coverage of the 2021 Commission of Inquiry on Instagram @BVINewsOnline #TrackingTransparency at www.bvinews.com.

 

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65 Comments

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  1. one man wrecking crew says:

    WOW!

    Like 35
    Dislike 1
  2. Snout in trough says:

    The evidence is that the members of the committee claimed their monthly stipend for a number of years, talked about a procedure manual that was drafted by a consultant but never implemented, did not raise any money, and did not finance any climate related projects.
    They did not even take control of the 40% of the levy that the fund was entitled to.
    Presumably they were paid out of central government funds since they did not raise any money themselves.
    Nice work if you can get it, but given their failure to actually achieve anything useful whilst in office is surprising that they did not decide to resign before they were pushed.

    Like 12
    Dislike 43
    • Exactly says:

      Sounds like you’ve described our current government to a ‘T’. Forget the committee.

      “failure to actually achieve anything useful”

      Correct.

      Like 58
      Dislike 3
    • Partly right says:

      Partly right BUT they were stuffed because the Govt didn’t do the bits needed for them to get the monies for the fund.

      Like 25
    • Sarah says:

      Did you even read the article? How could they be effective if the law was not in place to support their decisions?

      Like 22
      Dislike 1
    • @snout in trough says:

      You clearly didn’t watch the recording or read the transcript.
      The members used their OWN MONEY to set up the administration of the fund!
      They put in a huge amount of time and effort to set this thing up but GOVERNMENT never gave them the 40% of the income from the environmental levy they were supposed to receive.
      Your post is so completely wrong and misleading as to be suspiciously akin to a government defence of their own actions….
      Anyone who knows Mr Childs
      or even watched his submission will be in no doubt as to his
      selfless commitment to these islands.
      Btw whatever happened to the whole income from the levy?

      Like 77
      Dislike 3
    • TruDat! says:

      If all that is true then the Honourable Dictator had cause to remove them within the terms of “Section 16 of the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund Act” as defined in the article. Why did HD decide to use a different method? Sad to see that he was already well on the road to h**l so quickly into his (soon to be shortened) term as Premiere.

      Like 22
      Dislike 1
  3. Well sah says:

    that … premier. All is coming to light. I am losing respect for him rapidly.

    Like 41
    Dislike 3
    • Citizen says:

      I started loosing respect for that man when he pick the Speaker for the position. Why would you put someone with a ???????? past in a Speakers position. We are going to kick F*T BOY TO THE CURB COME NEXT ELECTION. ONE SWIFT KICK TO THE CURB. WE ARE TIRED OF THE INCOMPETENCE AND LACK OF GOOD LEADERSHIP.

  4. actually says:

    well he needed direct unobstructed access to the $10 enviromental tax without anyone looking on

    Like 40
    Dislike 1
    • @Actually says:

      Exactly right. Can you imagine how these goons will be if we don’t have Britain keeping an eye on them?

      Like 36
      Dislike 1
      • @@Actually says:

        Britain is watching them like chicken hawks. If they scratch their nose in private, Britain knows.ERRR, so and so scratch his nose at this time while sitting on his porch. Someone is always watching and taking notes.

        Like 1
        Dislike 1
  5. Resident says:

    foy is like a bizarro midas, everything he touches turns to crap

    Like 40
    Dislike 3
  6. I heard the testimony says:

    Andrew seems to enter power with a vengeace, revenge mentality, He started off wrong, no wonder he is ending up wrong… He needed to get the understanding of how things work have a sit down with the parties first before he starts writting all kind of stupid bossy controlling letters.

    Like 46
    Dislike 2
  7. Doh says:

    It’s what dictators and totalitarians do. They clean house and put their friends in.

    No different here.

    Carry on

    Like 44
    Dislike 3
  8. JUAN PING says:

    NDP bloggers at it again. When ayo goin stop trying to make people feel like if the world is against this Premier?

    Blogging will not help, ghees.

    Like 3
    Dislike 41
  9. itstime says:

    It shows more and more every day that Andrew Fahie is not fit to be Premier of the BVI.

    Like 39
    Dislike 4
    • @It is time says:

      It is time that the public know that there is a few persons from the east who feel like only them can lead. You will not fool the rest of us and the rest of us in the east. Fahie is doing a good job.

      Dislike 49
  10. LOL says:

    He did this with ALL OF THE BOARDS which is why so much things have gone wrong!

    Like 32
    Dislike 3
    • To LOL says:

      Nothing has gone wrong with the Boards except that those who were wife, sister, and other immediate family are angry that they cannot go with our tax payers money anymore. That is what all of this is about.

      Like 15
      Dislike 5
      • @To LOL says:

        The Premier’s ***, who has been involved in financial services since inception was on boards and had consultancies, boo hoo! Name one thing that any of the current boards have done for the last two years. BVITB is totally silent and posting gimmicks since the pandemic. If it was not for the private hospitality sector pushing hard the BVI would have already lost all of its tourism sector. What have BVIPA done since the board changed? Removed young educated people from the PA management and replaced them with total incompetence. Raise fees without understanding ramifications and placed a person with no management experience as the director. The proof is right there for all to see, the govt is totally incompetent and nothing happens without Saddam Fahie’s blessing.

        Like 27
        Dislike 1
      • @ LOL says:

        Every rope have a end. THEY WERE LIVING HIGH ON THE HOG ON OUR TAXPAYING DOLLARS. HA, HA, HAAAAA THE GRAVY BOWL HAS FINALLY RAN DRY. NO MORE FREE GRAVY FOR Y’ALL.

      • Lb says:

        Every Board has unqualified and undeserving VIP cronies on them. Tourism Board is the best example. Who in there have any experience or knowledge of tourists? Not one. The lady for *** hotel only have that hotel for revisits that tourists don’t go to or stay at. Only people from usvi and Rico and business people who traveling stay there. The big *** girl only talk hospitality but no expeeience. Gardeners, old crooks, construction, ex cons, govt retirees, accountant is on them Board for tourism. None qualified. They a point a waste of time to be the Director bcause *** is not a yes man and he father was ndp? When they calling tourists Board? Here jokes.

  11. Logic says:

    Interesting. A blogger telling ppl that blogging won’t help.

    Like 16
  12. Like says:

    Like many others, a wi**ed man’s wi**edness always catch up to him!

    Like 11
  13. Youth says:

    I took the time to listen to the COI and I never heard anything that happened as most of the paid bloggers are posting. It was clear that no laws were broken and anyone who came off the Board did so voluntarily. Premier keep pressing forward.

    Like 2
    Dislike 32
    • @youth says:

      Wah!?
      You didn’t hear the bit where he say NONE OF THEM RESIGN! how you come here saying they left voluntarily?
      You government ppl so desperate you lie on lies on lies.

      Like 26
  14. Hold on says:

    The COI who broke the law by not registering their lawyers to the BVI Bar which is a criminal offense is now trying to prove that we the people of the BVI have violated the law. What hypocrisy.

    Like 1
    Dislike 41
    • Georges says:

      This ain’t put on the ppl of BVi. This only about the frauds an thrives and stealing ppl . The rest of us get stoled.
      The BVi ppl are good people. The bad guys hiding behind us to make it look like they with us but they not.

    • @hold on says:

      Dear hold on, please hold on lol. To commit a crime, several elements have to be present but the main element is called ‘mens rea’ that means that in their minds, they knowingly committed a crime. Now, if an AG appoints you to act and you act based on this appointment,how did you commit a crime. Is it not the AG who gave you the ok? So you see, that very important element of mens rea is missing. So to answer your question, no,they did not commit a crime. The AG did.

      Like 7
      Dislike 3
  15. My only comment says:

    Well Mr. Premier. You opened Pandora’s box without thinking/knowing that there are two sections in the box, the good and bad. You happened to touch the bad section and have to deal with the backlash that is coming your way. SANS, PANDORA’S BOX IS A VERY POWERFUL BOX, NEXT TIME BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO STICK YOUR HAND IN THE BOX, THINK MAN THINK!!!.

    Like 15
  16. laughing wow says:

    This government seems to remove people from their jobs without plausible reasons. Lord, knows I still have a letter full of corruption from this government body. Press on COI

    Like 10
    Dislike 1
  17. I guess says:

    Andy PANDY thought he was the law and he could make and break the rules. ANY WHO ANDY PANDY, START LOOKING FOR NEW EMPLOYMENT. YOU WILL NOT BE RE ELECTED. THE PEOPLE WANT YOU GONE.

    Like 15
  18. A good thing from outside looking in says:

    England is going to step in and run Tortola for a while. To much wrong doings going on. We on the outside knows everything that is going on in Tortola, Some of us even know where the bodies are buried and under what trees SOME OF THE STOLEN GOVERNMENT FUNDS IS BURIED. NEED I SAY MORE?

    Like 12
    Dislike 2
  19. itstime says:

    @@It is time Fahieis doing a Sh!^job

  20. Truth says:

    You could’ve saved yourself time writing other articles by simple making the title “THE PREMIER DOES NOT FOLLOW LAWS!”….That about sums up the last 2 years of this incompetent administration.

    Like 18
  21. itstime says:

    @@It is time Fahie is doing a Sh!^job

  22. It is best says:

    The Premier need to call it a day, It is over for him. No need to continue fighting. He SIC the COI on NDP Government and it backfired on him big time.

    Like 16
    Dislike 1
  23. Observant says:

    I now that many people brand V**O as being bias but I think that this site is equally bias. This site always have an anti government post. What about positive things happening in the community (not government related). Seeing this story reminds me why I do not check this site. Shameful.

    Like 1
    Dislike 15
    • Beany says:

      This place more even than V**O. V**o won’t allow you to like things they don’t approve of and won’t allow you to post anything unless it thinks Fahie is descended from Mother Theresa.

      Like 13
      Dislike 1
  24. WELL says:

    am just going to look and learn as this fiasco continues

  25. $$$ says:

    It’s always, always about the Money. Get rid of those who are in the way of you controlling it; Give it to your friends in return for a kick back (often paid overseas); and destroy the evidence (or “forget”) about what happened.

    It’s time to appoint Martin Kenney to find out and recover every last cent that this Government, and previous ones, stole from the people.

    Like 11
  26. LOL says:

    Anywhere else in the world just on the allegations there would have been resignations from members of the government. The BVI is like the twilight zone, anything goes.

    Like 17
    • @LOL says:

      If they were anywhere outside of Tortola, you sure skippy they would have to submit resignations or spend some time in CAMP FEDS.

  27. lillian says:

    NDP STOLE A LOT OF MONEY CAN GO BACK AGAIN AT ALL!

  28. SNAFU says:

    Since Mr. get in politricks he been a waste of time, waste of money, waste of a single vote and conceptually a waste of 9 months.
    He tore down what our forefathers built and toiled for. He tore down any type of good governance with wicked ways. Shame on the Fat Man that has no control over his gluttonous appetite.
    Cookie Jar empty now!

    Like 18
  29. Well People says:

    You all turn loose a raging bull when you all elected that man in office. He is drunk in love for power.

    Like 16
    • LMAO! says:

      “Drunk in love for power” – I love this one! So much for his “sober campaign”. He drunk in love for the Treasury also.

  30. LMAO says:

    Drunk ? in love for power, I like that one.

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