Prioritise us! Ad Hoc committee in VG calls for preview of 2025 budget
An ad hoc committee formed by Virgin Gorda residents to lobby for better healthcare on the sister island, is calling for a preview of government’s preliminary estimates for the 2025 budget to ensure that funds for community healthcare are prioritised.
The group, known as the Ad Hoc Committee for Urgent Enhancement of Healthcare on Virgin Gorda, was established in response to growing public frustration with the current state of healthcare services, particularly following the tragic death of a resident on August 31. The individual, Revovion ‘Bucky’ Sprauve, reportedly died after being denied timely access to medical services at the Nurse Iris O’Neal Clinic due to reduced hours.
Although government healthcare officials held a community meeting earlier in September, the committee has raised fresh concerns about the government’s apparent lack of urgency in addressing these issues. They noted that the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA) had highlighted the urgent need for financial support during the 2023/2024 budget discussions to address significant operational deficits and capital expenditures affecting local health clinics, including those in Virgin Gorda.
“Despite the urgency of these requests, it is apparent that there was little to no attempt by the Minister of Health or the Cabinet of the Virgin Islands to address these issues given the current inadequate state of the clinics on Virgin Gorda. We are concerned that the Ministry and HSA did not share the urgency of these requests to Ministry of Finance so provisions could be made for increasing the budget allotment,” the ad hoc committee said in press release this week.
With the 2024/2025 budget set to be announced by the end of the year, the committee expressed concern that the community would once again be shortchanged regarding budgetary allocations. They have requested that “preliminary proposed budget estimates for 2025, particularly related to healthcare throughout the territory, along with a breakdown per island and specific clinic, be shared with us.”
The ad hoc group, along with the wider Virgin Gorda community, urged the Health Minister and the government to address these critical funding needs without further delay. They also requested updates and action points from the community meeting held in early September, as there has been no communication from the ministry to date.
“We now demand and expect the follow-up meeting to be scheduled by October 2, 2024,” the press release stated. They also provided their contact information: [email protected].
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Virgin Gorda residents allow Andrew Fahie and the VIP to hoodwinked them and now they are worse off than they have ever been. There was this cry that we wanted two representatives. One district and one at large. Has that made any difference at all? The two end up coming to Road Town to fight each other and that was all you got – embarrassment. Start to make better choices.
The committee formed for the “urgent” healthcare needs of Virgin Gorda—where has this sense of urgency been since 2017? What is clear is that urgency only manifests when the scent of political opportunity is in the air. Rather than a sincere commitment to resolve systemic problems, it is more likely that what we are witnessing is an opportunistic power grab, fueled by ambition rather than altruism.
What is perhaps more alarming is the relationship between private healthcare practices and public financing—these private entities are fattening their coffers at the expense of public funds. This is not an indictment of the hospital’s quality of care, but rather a flaw in how the NHI was structured. It was designed to sustain public healthcare, but instead, it has lined the pockets of private providers. Do we expect this committee to address this fundamental flaw? Hardly. Their interests seem to align more with maintaining executing a political agenda than with shedding light on the real problem. They would much prefer to keep the public uninformed and, perhaps, join the financial spoils themselves when they attain that power they so ravenously seek.
While you hiding behind political parables that group moving. Seems you are the one with a political agenda and when you see others doing positive things you getting all flustered. But you wont take the people eyes off of the prize– better health care. Keep talking for cronyism to continue and yes the contracts. When positive change happens in bvi health care system you will also benefit.
Virgin Gorda, the world’s greatest adhocracy.
More flies in our eyes.
“Despite the urgency of these requests, it is apparent that there was little to no attempt by the Minister of Health or the Cabinet of the Virgin Islands to address these issues given the current inadequate state of the clinics on Virgin Gorda.”
well yall vote the dr**k sell out in so 2x and yall hated shereen for whatever idk but i guess the island will suffer as it always has… we really need a good representative who would fight for vg instead of smiling for cameras and being quiet in debates
try vote brutus in mehson or Former principal George
to the princess of VG ❓️ WE all thought the LADY would of been a breath of fresh air for VG ,but
she got caught up in the suction of
whirlwind of the VIP and went and sit down on the hot asphalt and
bar-B-cued my ” Lil
Fren “, and then
turned ghost (
what a pity , now
we are finding out
why they replaced
her with the chickenhawk
And we ask ourselves why accountability is such a rare commodity in contemporary politics. It was her own political miscalculations that led to her downfall—not Andrew, not Wheatley. She was a successful at-large candidate and was wisely advised to run at-large again. Before her decision to enter the district race, she and Wheatley had a productive working relationship, providing dual advocacy for Virgin Gorda’s interests. But she made her choice, and the people rendered its verdict. Now, instead of accepting responsibility, there’s a tendency to indulge in bitterness. The mature response would be to admit, “I miscalculated,” and move forward. When will we cultivate the capacity for objective thought? This deficiency is not confined to politics; it permeates almost every aspect of our public discourse.
What does your comment have to do with the article? It appears you have a personal grievance with somebody. You asked for something and got turned down? Stop talking nonsense and focus on getting good healthcare in the BVI. You live here, I live here and if you got children, them I am thinking live here. Take politics outta your blind eyes! Tired of ayo.
to the princess of VG ❓️ WE all thought the LADY would of been a breath of fresh air for VG ,but
she got caught up in the suction of
whirlwind of the VIP and went and sit down on the
hot asphalt and
bar-B-cued my ” Lil
Fren “, and then
turned ghost (
what a pity , now
we are finding out why they replaced her with the his majesty Vinnie
These people have ZERO SHAME! If the man didn’t die it would be business as usual. They voted for a representative who was Chief Minister, Premier, Minister of Finance, they voted for him for 30 years and never even got a wooded hut as a clinic. Now they have Hon. Wheatley on his 2nd term, he was elected and met the clinic there, he is the Minister of Health and they cannot get anything done. Somehow their outrage is at the Chairman of HSA and not their representative. I hope them and many others in the BVI continue to suffer for the stupid voting decisions. Yes, I said it!
The two NDP in charge at the HSA will never do anything to make Wheatley look good
Apparently you didnt read. the Minister has to do something for the hsa who asked for URGENT help. vincent and sowande did not help. stop making this political.
There need to be specialist doctors at the hospital. Cardiologist, oncologist, dentist, a better pathologist, an otolaryngologist, an Ophthalmologists
Agree 100%
Plus equipment too. It looks like eureka is the only clinic offering echocardiogram service
VG needs a representative who will bring VG out of the “tourist” duldrums and up to scale in jobs, health care, education anda better lifeforall, not just those who are previe to steer. ligislated money like a vehicle, from one place to the next untilit disappears.
I knew that team was doomed before it started. As, one was honest the pusuit of a new political paradigm and the other, a self motivated tunnel vision mind for greenies.
Some of us have seen the envelopes and some have spoken about. Some have asked for help and never received while other were. That crazy how th world is inside a political organization with money as it driving force.
The team dissipated quitely, though many noticed and were quite disappointed. But, it was what it was what it is.