BVI News

Pressure forced gov’t to give stimulus $$ directly to residents

A section of Road Town. Photo Credit: Timothy Barker

Overwhelming pressure from businesses forced the government into giving persons monies directly in their hand from stimulus grants it distributed last year.

This is according to Premier Andrew Fahie who made the disclosure when he appeared before the Commission of Inquiry (COI) recently.

The Premier told the COI that business owners did not want to take Purchase Orders from the government, especially in a situation of crisis as existed at the onset of the pandemic. He said this was because it usually takes a long time to get paid even outside of a crisis.

The government’s grant from the Social Security Board, Premier Fahie told the COI, was only $22.5 million and not $40 million as was indicated in some quarters.

Fast escalation

The Premier told the commission that although the process of disbursements proceeded in a conventional manner at first — where funds were approved before being paid to suppliers — things changed after events began to escalate quickly.

He explained that this included a series of lockdowns imposed on residents and situations where fishermen could no longer fish as they normally would since the borders were being patrolled in a strict manner at the time.

The move, the COI heard, meant a shift in policy that essentially reconfigured the way government did business with individuals, but ultimately raised serious questions about accountability in the process.

“So, in the crisis, they preferred it, that is why we were forced by businesses telling us it’s best you give the money to the people, let them wait on your cheque and then come to us,” the Premier said.

According to the Premier, suppliers were saying they did not want to have a series of Purchase Orders and and not be able to receive their money until months down the road, especially given that their employees would still be seeking to be paid.

He added: “So, the pressures from businesses is what drove that policy shift to get it into the person’s hands.”

“To save all of this, the Government had to pivot to decide to get a direct adrenaline boost, a shot in the arm to wake back up the economy,” the Premier stated.

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19 Comments

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  1. 4 REAL ? says:

    need to be in Hollywood n/ sounds like another episode of whats next

    Like 28
    • Kilo says:

      Is Foy mentally ill? His defences get more and more unbelievable. You just know he’s been sitting with his (our) legal team, trying to think up excuses for everything.

      Also, what difference does it make to fishermen if the country’s borders are patrolled? Is he saying the fishermen are all criminals who ignore immigration law?

      Like 25
    • Farmer says:

      I have a stripper friend who says she want to thank Andrew for stuffing a bag full of cash and coke and dropping it off at her “farm” a while back. It really helped but was entirely unexpected since all she did was mention she voted for him and that she had loves bananas and table tennis balls.
      He da man!

  2. Citizen says:

    So this is the reasoning for why certain funds went missing. You paid out cash so no trace of the payment will exist.

    Like 33
    Dislike 2
  3. Photo says:

    Is from another decade; definitely before Sept. 2017. How about a photo of RT from this decade!

    Like 6
    Dislike 2
  4. The Right thing to do.. says:

    Giving peoe their Tax return as Stimulus in their hands were the best wY to go…All it needed were rules, fairness and a proper enforced process….To give businesses directly would have been a total disaster,.The problem isn’t who got the money, its a fair distribution base on set criterias without compromised..

    Like 2
    Dislike 1
  5. heckler says:

    More lies again?

    Like 13
  6. What a guy says:

    Albert you’re the best. You are really defending the procedure you used to disburse the stimulus money? You gave some people between $9,000-$13,000 who have never even thrown a fishing line in their lives, and you are defending that? Some disbursements of these amounts were to multiple nonagricultural and non Fisher folks. Some households of your cronies got even more. Say like $33,000? Who do you pray to when you say those prayers before you start lying? Even the devil get tired of wickedness, so he will soon drop you.lmao.

    Like 23
  7. Windy says:

    To lazy to do the paperwork and didn’t want to leave a paper trail and it’s not their money ! Business as usual

    Like 16
    Dislike 1
  8. WEW says:

    What crock of s…

    Like 20
  9. Tax payers want back their monies says:

    From the Barry family farm

  10. Lol says:

    Looks like BVI got a S**ko for a Premier.

  11. lol says:

    This is hilarious “Sir the dog ate my homework”. This will be moving swiftly to trial.

  12. wow yes sah says:

    lol.

    yeah fahie try your best

  13. Anonymous says:

    This is who you have running the island.

    Since when anybody from the general public could tell the Premier what and when or how to proceed with any governmental affairs especially when it involves money spending?

    All I have to say is fix it Jesus..fix it

  14. Observer says:

    Worst Than The Jamaica ?? Colt Master.Whats next Scarficing more people in the Country.People becareful of Wicked People in High Places G J Said I Approved my Message..

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