Some recipients not deserving of farmer’s grants — Premier
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has acknowledged that some beneficiaries of the government’s COVID-19 Fishers and Farmers assistance grants programme should not have received these handouts two years ago.
The territory’s leader, who served as the Minister of Agriculture when the funds were distributed, briefly addressed the highly controversial grants while speaking during the recent budget debate.
“While we know that some persons were not deserving or did not make good use of the money, to God be the glory, there are persons who benefited,” Dr Wheatley said of the grants in the House of Assembly this week.
This appears to be the first instance that the Premier — who served as a member of the then Andrew Fahie-led Cabinet — has conceded that recipients may not have been deserving of funds from the heavily criticised COVID-19 grants programme.
At the time the grants were being distributed, Dr Wheatley said he was pleased about the response to the programme being run through the Finance Ministry, which was then helmed by Fahie.
Health Minister Marlon Penn, who served as the Opposition Leader before joining the Government of National Unity formed after Fahie’s arrest, has consistently criticised the programme.
“I don’t understand how you could have a process – a policy decision made on farming and fishing – and the minister responsible for the subject isn’t involved in the process. That is even more concerning to me and it should be concerning to the public in terms of how the process was followed,” Penn stated last year.
The Commission of Inquiry (COI) report and Auditor General Sonia Webster were both critical of the programme which showed that monies were improperly disbursed without the necessary safeguards being put in place.
Many of the recipients were also never registered as either farmers or fisherfolk before receiving the more than $6 million in taxpayer-funded grants.
However, Premier Wheatley later said that efforts were being made to regularise the sector through the Food Security & Sustainability Act passed by the government.
In the meantime, Dr Wheatley expressed pride in persons he said were able to use the assistance grants to invest in facilities to grow their agro-businesses.
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You were the minister of agriculture. You administered the funds without any checks and balances. You gave funds to people who you knew were not farmers or fisherfolks. You are trying hard to separate yourself from all head coach was involved in but you were lock and step with him with everything. You were his defender and biggest cheerleader. The minute he got in trouble you became the lap dog of the UK so they would not object to you being Premier. How could you be the minister for agriculture and fisheries and not be involved in the distribution of the stimulus in the way that it happened? Tell that to an idiot but not to sensible people.
I made good use of my funds. However there is a flip side to this as the government registry of farmers and fishermen was never updated. This created an issue when the pandemic hit. The government must do better at this part.
Hind sight after a major crisis as it was the worse in the last 100 years is always 20/20.
Anyone who received the fisher and farmer grant at that time also received in writing with the grant that they must account for the money they received and will be expected to do so. This is why I am saying that all who received grants also have a responsibility to do so. I revcieved and it was always clear that it was not free money.
So what now, is the government going to retrieve the funds through the courts, or are we going to say “Oh well, too late now”? Don’t tell me that some of these so-called farmers did not willingly defraud the government.
We have all learn some lessons for the future on how to assist the public in future disasters and pandemics but so has the entire world who, like the BVI, had challenges handling the worse pandemic in the last 100years. I do not see anything illegal happened with the grants. It was more of being overwhelmed and needed stronger policies. Again this is easy to say as no country ever had to deal with this catastrophic event before. But all who received grants were informed that they must account for their grant funds. I got funds and was told afterwards that the government approved a committee to visit each recipient to inspect so be ready for such at any time. It is after the fact but at least it is a step in the right direction.
The sl** premier throwing fahie under the bus
I am a farmer who was not registered with government as a farmer but received a grant after pleading my case. Let me say this to all that blaming Fahie or who ever else that it is easy to do now but not correct. The fishing and agriculture department has dropped the ball with these two industry for years. Trying to be registered is like taking a exam to be a medical doctor. They never get back to you or help you. There are a lot of us who are not registered but are legitimate fishing and farming people. Our government failed us in these industry so ayo do not be too quick to play the blame game. I made good use of my grant by the way.
Why you didn’t say this to Head Coach? You guys sat their quiet and watched the Head Coach run havoc throughout the territory. Now come on here to say this! You was the minister of Agriculture when this took place. So you just as to blame. This is why the people are so hateful and disrespectful towards you and your government.
Marlon and all these guys are just playing politics. I do not blog but had to on this one. I am a fisherman and was not registered but no fault of mine as I really did not know I had to be registered and this is for years now. I went to Marlon during the pandemic when the grants were being discussed and he plead my case and got me grant. I am not a Fahie fan but I do not believe in tearing down our people unjustly. It was a difficult time and still is. All our systems failed us and we also saw all the failures in our system thanks to the pandemic.
As a farmer who was not registered but am a known farmer, I must disagree with some of what you said. It is easy to get in the blame game after the fact, but we all need to remember that the entire world governments handled the pandemic bad, and it is hard to blame them as no one ever had to deal with this kind of disaster before. I can say that it could have been handled better but the fact still remains that ALL recipients of grants also received a letter with the grant that clearly stated that you are expected to be accountable for the monies. So, rather than doing an upfront check and balance which we all know was difficult to had been done at that time, there was a back-end check that was going to be done. I saw in the news that the government cabinet approved that checks and balance committee, so they just have to do their work and stop making a valiant effort to help during the most difficult time in the history of the world seem as if there was something wrong that happened. I agree that there are lessons to be learnt here but that goes for all governments around the world.
This matter is larger than your narrow view out of hateed. At least there was an effort to help during a difficult period even if they were not registered. But what about social security and employers who for years took out people’s social security out of our pay checks but did not pay it into social security office and when the pandemic hit we got no assistance from the grants even although we proved to social security that their money was taken out of our paychecks. Who is talking about this? This is worse than trying to blame who ever tried to help the fisher and farmer people. If you ask me the pandemic exposes all the weaknesses of all the systems in the BVI both private and public sector. Let us use this time to get better rather than trying to destroy because the worse is coming.
I want to remind Marlon and the rest of the world about Irma and the grants given out then for businesses and others under Marlon’s government. Now that is the one that should have been audited but we all know this whole thing is politics.
This is enough reason not to vote for you again. Either you were negligent and corrupt giving away my tax money to people who didn’tdeserve it because they are VIP. Or you are weak and not really a leader and didn’t have the cojones to stand up to the Head Coach and do what was right! It was your portfolio! So either way you are not worthy of representing this territory!
This is why I have concerns over the COI and how it was done or rather the real reason it was done.The same holds true for some of these audits. Please understand that I am 100% for transparency, accountability and good governance but it cannot be selective or targeting. Why was NHI not looked into? This is organize robbery. Why was Social Security and employers who failed to pay employees social security money not looked into? Why was who all social security bought lands and the high cost not looked into? Why was the government handling of Irma including those grants they give out not looked into? Why was a few former commissioner of Police not looked into? Why was the poor management of the public service by the governor not looked into? Why was some governors not looked into? I could go on and on as to why I see the motives behind these actions as not being sincere but rather targeting. Who vex I do not apologize because the truth hurts.
This is a very small place. We ALL know who got the money and the foolish stuff they spent it on.
So you, the Premier, and the former commissioner of agriculture, didn’t know who was a farmer or fisher-person!? PLEASE!
This was 100% handout to buddies and once again tring to buy the vote instead of doing what’s best for all the people. Call it what it is and move on. There was no real benefit to the community in increasing farming or fishing.
Wasn’t this the same man who seconded all the motions put forward?
If people are fishing for years and do not have a licence to fish from a vessel, they are fishing illegally – Fisheries Act, 1997 Section 17
Another day with this f**l as our Premier. We will not forget that all of you just as guilty as Head Coach for sitting quiet and going along with all the corruption that was going on.
Here we are falling for the Governor and his UK bosses trap with their organized COI to finally have an excuse to do us here in BVI what they did the many suffering people in the UK which is implement policies under the guise of good governance when it is really a way to sustain the status quo. Like most of the UK, we in the BVI will now suffer especially in disasters and regular life as nothing will get done for us without major red tape which really means nothing much will be done for us and there will only be the rich and the poor like most of the UK population through this organized colonial plan and rule. We all know the UK handled their COVID grant a million times worse than what they accusing the BVI of and they did no COI nor investigation especially during the worse time of COVID like what they did us here in the BVI. And NO! I do not back the VIP but just telling it like it is for those who do not research or have common sense. I am also for accountability but it must not be void of reality.
Oh please.
The worst part is no one has gone to jail. YET
Oh but Hon Calvin Malone and Hon Vincent Wheatley …there is no voice of reason for them? again I wonder what about them has the so called Unity party so shook?
well the fallen angels SQUANDERED the taxpayers money , but U seems to cannot see straight / here’s a a toy for your Xmas , he who thinks , he knows , knows not he knows nothing , ( no offence ¿• open both ah dem ?