Sister islands need to benefit from government’s $100M loan too

Former legislator Shereen Flax-Charles has questioned how much of the government’s $100 million infrastructure loan has been spent on Virgin Gorda, saying she has seen no evidence of spending on the island.

“We have not seen a penny of the $100 million being spent on Virgin Gorda yet, as far as we’re aware,” Flax-Charles said during this week’s Talking Points radio programme.

However, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley pointed to roadworks in Virgin Gorda’s North Sound area completed earlier this year, including a section near Robinson O’Neal Primary School, as part of an infrastructure programme funded by the loan.

Flax-Charles raised the issue of the loan while discussing problems with healthcare, water, electricity and roads on Virgin Gorda. She said the Nurse Iris O’Neal Clinic faced longstanding challenges, although she understood efforts were underway to address them.

“We have water problems, just like Tortola,” she said. She also described major electricity challenges on Virgin Gorda, although she said the situation had eased somewhat.

Asked about the roads, she replied: “Oh, the roads are not good.”

Flax-Charles called for infrastructure work to take place across the territory rather than on one island at a time.

“Things need to be done simultaneously throughout the territory,” she said, adding that residents on Tortola, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada faced similar difficulties.

Her comments come amid wider questions about how the loan will be allocated. In August, Opposition Leader Marlon Penn argued that the borrowed funds should serve the entire territory and criticised the absence of a territory-wide road repair plan.

The government has said the loan covers several capital projects beyond roads.

Flax-Charles said Virgin Gorda residents had experienced prolonged water and electricity outages within the past six months. She urged fair treatment for the islands while acknowledging that parts of Tortola faced similar problems.

“Because if we’re sisters to Tortola, we are supposed to be treated well. Fairly,” she said.