Residents living in derelict vehicles?
Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn yesterday decried the audacity of legislators who passed the Retiring Allowances (Legislative Services) Amendment Act, 2021 — more commonly known as the Greedy Bill — saying the law was enriching politicians in a territory where derelict vehicles are being used for housing.
The government is on a quest to rid the territory of derelicts, which became a problem after the 2017 hurricanes battered the BVI.
But Walwyn said some people have been resisting the cleanup exercise because they are using the abandoned vehicles as homes.
Moments before the offensive sections of the Retiring Allowances (Legislative Services) Amendment Act, 2021 were repealed, Walwyn juxtaposed the thousands of dollars lawmakers were getting with the harsh realities of ordinary residents of the community.
“You have so many people who can’t make ends meet in this place. I don’t know where the government lives because when you go around, you see the hardships that people are having. Do you know how many homeless people we have in this country? People are sleeping in their cars! The Minister of Health will tell you. I’m sure he gets a lot of complaints from people telling him not to move their derelict vehicles because that’s where they live,” Walwyn stated.
He continued: “You have potholes all over the country, everywhere! When I go through D6 there are potholes everywhere. People can’t get water to bathe. I have people in my district who have to run their own pipes to attract water to their homes. But you could pay somebody (retired politicians) not to do any work?”
The controversial Greedy Bill — passed under the previous Andrew-Fah’e administration — granted lawmakers lump sum payments, gratuity and guaranteed salaries after leaving office.
The lawmakers who passed the bill, say they were merely trying to give elected leaders livable salaries and pensions during and after their service to the BVI.
The bill later drew criticism from the public who expressed that lawmakers were enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers.
The offensive sections were finally repealed yesterday as several lawmakers admitted that some of the stipulations were excessive and unnecessary, especially as the BVI continues to navigate this period of austerity.
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There are a lot of people living in abandon vehicles right here in the BVI. Lots of people knows it but they turn a blind eye. Some of the taxpayers money that is being spent and wasted should be used to purchase some tiny homes and set up for the people with children who is sleeping in abandon vehicles.
The expats always calling down the BVI but would rather live in old cars than go home to their perfect islands. It goes to show that one bad day in the BVI is still better than ten good days where they come from. smh.
We are going backwards
Check out the budget to the population
Unequal distribution of wealth
Soon if this trend continues there will be two classes those who live in wealth and those in poverty little middle man
The population is now by far expatriates , belongers and immigrants
So BVIslabders do not care about what hardship they face . Whether they can manage the position they are in charge as they now see CONTROL is slipping away . Poverty experienced by the majority . It is not their problems .
That is why the schools and other systems are broken …. The Mentality is —-the benifits of policies go to the majority of the population
who is the majority of the population?
… Outsiders who got status
Simple maths no rocket science needed to figure this out . Cant you all see behind the smoke screen
There are only two classes of people living in the BVI, THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS. YOU EITHER HAVE IT OR YOU DON’T.
Fu**y man is gloom and doom but he could be sleeping in a cell soon
GO BACK HOME!
Bvi imported and installed poverty and criminality .
Give these lazy parasitic folks a one way ticket to their natured endowed resourced countries.
Clean up the place.
He took more that $$1/2million from the thing he now cries against , is he giving the money back as that was a retirement payment and he is back in the house???????
This headline and article alone are misleading. Is it VIslanders living in derelict vehicles or people on work permits who cannot afford the apartments since they are so high since Irma? If people cannot sustain themselves here then the logical thing to do is return home.
The majority of the people going through this are BVI locals. Stop talking bs the locals are suffering in this country with victimization. Some of us don’t even have food to eat and yes we are educated with masters bachelors and PHD our own local black people is who treating us bad
And yet nothing is being addressed such as high cost of living prices at the supermarkets, employment low salaries such as Government, high rent, high electricity bills. Who we keep electing keep turns a blind eye.
Humans do what they need to do to survive.
Which cars are the latest mortgage defaulters going to live in after the banks auction off all their foreclosed property??
@SMH Some are stuck because they can’t afford to go home, and some may be too proud and ashamed to share their problem. Don’t be heartless. You don’t know when hardtime is going call on you.
With yr mother next to him
Everything happening to the voting public tis GOOD. You all line up and elect these sorry excuses for politicians. Imagine these clowns and robbers pass legislation to enrich themselves and teachers can make a little 38k or 48k a year. They have to instruct our kids and can’t eat. BUT EVERYONE OF THE POLITICIAN FAMILY FAT WITH FOOD. You all silly bad.
Why catch hell in another man place go back home if u catching hell ..them love to call down my country but cant stay out …statistcs shows is expats living in these abandon vehicle when u look half of them not straight for the bvi . Loan spanish and vincy ppl
People speak truth everyday to the elected of this countryand yet no change ever occurs. It apears like they don’t care.
They truly don’t care. For example, here is another local voter posisibly stating the same facts that have been stated in media for years, yet nothing has come forth from the leaders to relieve the people.
“Everything happening to the voting public tis GOOD. You all line up and elect these sorry excuses for politicians.
“Imagine these clowns and robbers pass legislation to enrich themselves and teachers can make a little 38k or 48k a year.”
And, imagine, the retired teacher is yet to receive increments owed for years back either..
This appears a deliberate and well thoughtout decision by government not to pay those former teacher employees their money.
Just keep promising until they die off. Same as the insurance companies do.
Tired of complaining, asking, begging and waiting for our worked for monies. It is not fair how thy do us old people. It is not fair and they don’t care about their people who elected them to theirjobs, salary, kick backs and other.
May God see for us all.
Don’t be so quick to jump on the Expats for this one. They are not the ones living in their cars… it’s our own people living in cars. Things have gotten so hard for some locals and it leaves them no choice. So easy up off the expats. Most of them is doing far better than the Locals here in BVI.
What you have against Vincy people . They help to clean ayo nasty arse house , clothe … Sone ayo sleep in ayo day clothes . Stop it nuff. Thing to pass around
Send home the ones that should and need the comfort and bene f it’s of their country.
Their country is obligated to house and feed them.
Tortola jus going down the toilet why u think is has local ppl on the street cause the government ain’t provide more work jobs for us the people why do u think people tryna sell drugs cause they need the money to maintain that big f**king rent bill
There is a World beyond this dot of a space r. .
Countries in Africa begging you to return home and giving you citizenship,land and housing to start….Ghana especially.
Also places in Europe,Italy for instance asking folks and paying them to come and live in places where the population has been reduced to zero.
Google the Internet.