System set up for us to fail — Deputy Speaker
Deputy Speaker and Territorial At-Large Representative Neville ‘Sheep’ Smith has complained that the proverbial ‘system’ has been set up for lawmakers to fail.
Smith was speaking during the House of Assembly (HOA) debate over an Auditor General’s report on Claude Skelton Cline’s contracts with the Virgin Islands Party government between 2019 and 2021.
The report showed that Skelton Cline received more than $365,000 of taxpayer funds without delivering on the requirements of his three contracts. Auditor General Sonia Webster also concluded that the primary purpose of the consultancy services Skelton Cline provided to the government over the period in question “was not to add value to the government but rather to provide employment for the consultant (Skelton Cline)”.
Smith, while debating the issue, said he heard the phrase ‘the system does not work’ being uttered more than 15 times while listening to his colleagues debate the report on the contracts.
“It’s a serious report. They have a lot of stuff in here that speaks to what went down,” Smith said. “I’ve come to this House more than one time talking about the system that we have. [It] is set up for us to fail. And this is the very, very evidence of it — that the system is set up for us to fail.”
According to the Deputy Speaker, there should be some sort of mechanism in place to see a red light when such things are taking place so they can be stopped.
“Reading this [report] here, it’s telling you nothing was delivered. So how was he paid? How did he get paid? This is what, I don’t understand, How was he paid if he did not deliver. Isn’t that a failure in the system? Smith asked.
The first-term legislator argued, among other things, that the HOA’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is already an established system, along with the Auditor General’s Office that are supposed to be in place and should have been able to stop the issue from happening.
He also said the Financial Secretary had a duty to look at the issue and determine how payments were being made to Skelton Cline.
“This is a test. It’s a lesson that we have to put things in place and be accountable for things,” Smith said. “We cannot continue going down the road this way. I’ve said it from the time I was elected, and I’m saying it now again, we can’t continue talking about the system and ain’t doing nothing to fix it.”
Smith said people shouldn’t just blame politicians for the issue. He suggested that lawmakers were being pitted against each other for the sake of politics and argued that people were trying to fuel the problem instead of fixing it.
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the system was created by you and the rest puppets , so now that you all are being exposed , you are crying it was set up for you ANGELS to fail / when you all already FAILED you own people ,,( you sounding like the holy one CSC , have you been taking his lessons in deception ???
Surely accountability is for all involved is it not?
Afterall, it was the elected member/s of Government that gave out the contract/s. If anything, the hammer should come down hardest on those we elect to protect and run our country with integrity and with the people’s best interest in mind.
The system has issues, but it did not fail, you just looked the other way because it was convenient, and you thought you could get away with it! Facts!
Wow,i guess you are clueless, about approving 3 contracts, now want to blame others for paying the cheques. When you approved the contracts, you were not interested if he got paid, why now, as that was the sole purpose of the contracts. Do you plan to run again. I hope not.
Yes, Mr. Smith. Those reforms you speak of are called THE COI, which your premier and his government have tried to impede at every turn.
Some people don’t want the system to change. They like it just fine.
people were trying to fuel the problem instead of fixing it. Who is the people being referred to. Who are the people expected to fix the problem. Is it not the same people abusing them. Then again this problem solving issue is really beyond the mental capabilities of a sheep. Beside contracts what has this person achieved or contributed for the people of the virgin islands. What really qualified this person to sit in parliment and speak on the behalf of the people accept born hay.
Ok,I hear you and understand the concern and problem. Now what? We don’t want to beat a dead horse and assign blame to anyone in particular. What we would like to hear at this point is solutions to the problem and how do we recoup our money. Please, SOLUTIONS.
Exactly!
Every time one of these elected officials get up talking about trying to remove the Order in Council, I strike him/her off my list. How stupid you think the people are? This “system” is what you are protecting and not our sovereignty. Busy yourselves in putting the d%$mn COI recommendations in place and stop you noise!!
The man is right. How can someone be paid $400K of government funds for doing NOTHING. The systems are flawed and other senior government officers should be charged, even the FS for letting this money go out the door. It’s easy to jump on the politicians but civil servants at all levels need to do their jobs.
When the premier is also the minister of finance it puts the people’s purse in the premiers pocket.
You sat there like a sheep to the slaughter and never call out the government
WHAT NONSENSE
All you hear is YEA YEA
These man IS and control the system wha killing we… wtf he talking about?
This don’t make sense
Both these individuals have had multiple contracts with government during their tenures. They both regularly came to the house for exemptions and backed one another without failure. Therefore, why would they care one ? derrière about value for money with Fraude Kline dubious contracts? All of them have been willing key actors in this drama and thus are complicit in the plot.
Clean hands? I think not!
Every system has failings. Not every system has corrupt politicians
that subvert the system to steal money
for themselves and their cronies. We have those people.
They need to be thrown in Balo and replaced by decent people.
The system??? How about the VIP cabinet?they made the decision give Claude half a billion dollars (approximately $489,990USD) but ayo want get voted back in because ayo now acting like ayo have sense.
Stop letting people take us for fools! A VIP led Cabinet agreed to give Claude Skelton Cline almost half of a billion dollars! Came to the house and pass the greedy bill??? Decision to pay claude for nothing but treating government employees like dogs begging for increments.
Ayo take us as fools!!!
He is looking to replace Fahie in District One. Even has an office there.
What other enterprises is he seeking to replace Fat Albert in you might ask.
I think we can guess.
@ facts.
These rep`s asked to be elected. they went along with fahie`s wishes. and now calling this a mistake and a setup. The whole bunch needs to pay back all the money that was stolen/taken OOPPPSSS
So what happened to the security detail that Fahie had? Why did he really have it, and why did it stop?
What did the police find out about the threat he received?
Wtf is Neville talking about? He is part and parcel od the system he is complaining about. With his eyes wide open and his intellect intack he signed off on and supported those contracts. So what red light light he needs to warn their crooked a**. Your honesty and integrity is your red light, but you cr**ked co**upt politicians don’t know those two words. I think Neville should retire because he talks just bs nothing that make sense.
This is a sheepish argument. “System set up for us to fail.” Who set up the system Sheep? Were you not there when the contracts were being signed?
U spelt million incorrectly twice
He just trying ah ting / CSC doing his thing / blondie playing with his racism lyrics / and this Shepard singing the chorus , without his sound system ,
I have to laugh whenever I hear people talking about or blaming this mysterious “system”….
Is this Sheep or Goat (goat of all time)??????
is saying )> first let me say this , am a sheep , not a saint / (me) keep on rapping brO
Clearly you are because you don’t even know number… how and where you got “ half of a billion dollars?” ?
Is that why Andrew failed ?
Wow… Hon Sleep (I mean Sheep) wake up. Sounds like he snoring he ain’t awake yet
It’s obvious that it was an accident / MISTAKE OR WHATEVER , so why dramatize it , WE GOT THE MESSAGE , DIDN’T YOU ?????? Or has the holy one blessed you ?