Too much bureaucracy! Smith frowns at abandoned wrecks
Deputy Premier Lorna Smith has expressed frustration over the level of bureaucracy that has been affecting the government’s ability to do certain things, including cleaning up sections of the territory.
Smith, speaking in the House of Assembly recently, said lawmakers agreed to do a clean-up exercise across the territory after a Standing Finance Committee meeting where details about the budget were discussed.
She said things appeared to be progressing well and also credited Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn for the progress he had made with work in his district.
But Smith told the House of Assembly that she felt there was a need for a more sustainable approach to cleaning up the territory.
“We have to find a way to clean our country up in a sustainable fashion. We talked about it in our meeting. We talked about maybe getting Public Works more involved. But whatever it is, we have to get it done,” Smith said.
The Deputy Premier pointed to the long delay in removing derelict boats that have been stuck along the shoreline of the BVI since hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
According to Smith, a group at Nanny Cay was willing and agreed to clean up three of the wrecked vessels in Sea Cows Bay and some additional vessels but encountered a challenge along the way.
“We have to gazette any such decision or any such plan for two months before we can act,” Smith explained. “We could be at this for a few years. I hope not. But the bureaucracy sometimes, you know, it’s overpowering.”
Smith said she was told that a request for proposals will be released shortly for a wider clean-up programme and expressed hope that the vessels will all be removed before the end of this year.
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I guess that they are tired blaming poor Frazer for things beyond his control
It would appear that the verb action has been accredited to the wrong persons. Obviously the one who is trying to get things done in the territory is the Hon Lorna in we corner. How long will Hon slowness, Hon inept, Hon can’t do, Hon excuse remain às head of government. How long will it take for him to realize that he is woefully lacking as the figure head.
It is time to move the territory forward with Lorna as our premier. Time to go slow wonder for the love of country.
Laawna in deh cornah as Premier? Naa; not feeling that at all! Who else amongst the current set is slim.
Put out a bulletin that anything that is left unattended for more than 30 days will be removed at owners cost. boats, cars, garbage, construction debris, anything this kind of thing is costing massive tourist dollars. who wants to vacation in a dump site…
..so much to do…Even the communication companies leave wires all over. A suggestion is to take a deposit/bond when a company starts work so maoney is available to clean up their mess if necessary. This is done through immigration for residents that live here. It can be done for businesses and imported boats etc.
Luarna in the Corna is feckless as a leader. She needs that nap and her oatmeal.
The BVI needs to enforce that all vessels like Motor Vehicles have insurance, regardless of your status on island, then removal of vessels would be covered by he Insurance Company in the event of storm wreckage or any other reason. Vessels that have been left will have had no insurance on them.
It’s already in the Merchant Shipping Act. It just isn’t enforced at the border. In addition to this, they need to pass law to ensure that foreign vessels can’t change ownership while in Territorial waters without government consent. This would be a revenue generator off the back of the yacht sales market, and it would also ensure that the insured vessels which were transferred to salvors and scavengers for $1 (who had no insurance) would not have been transferrable without having the relevant security in place.
Many of those yachts were insured, but the wrecks were sold as-is, where-is to individuals who were not insured and to whom the BVI has no reasonably enforceable method to recover our loss from cleaning up their mess.
These suggestions have been submitted multiple times. It’s a very simple legislative change.
Legislation that restrict or adds more fees to sale of yachts in BVI WILL HAVE the primary result of vessels not selling in the territory… already recent customs changes have one large charter company doing all sales is USVI to avoid large greedy fees.. more fees just drive business to more reasonable territories… not a net win.
Lorna is who have these set of amateurs running the country just to get a deputy position.
Years ago, long before the 2017 storms, the Government was advised by the private sector that the legislation to deal with derelict marine vessels needed significant updating. Yet nothing happened and so those who wish to tidy up the country from these vessels do not have all the necessary legal rights to do so. Yet again, the inept civil service got paid for doing nothing. Lorna has the right idea, but a huge number of people need to be removed from their positions before anything will actually happen in this country.
and MULTIPLE times by both private sector individuals and industry representative bodies since Irma. These lessons were learned in Hugo and Marilyn. They were repeated in Irma. Wonder what the next one will be called.
The rda already put out an rfp on this and bids were collected the sleepy inept govt just never acted
Check the dates. The VIP canceled the RFP when they got in and never acted to clean up the mess. Yet Lawna joined them and now complaining about the mess! You just can’t make this stuff up!!
If RDA and previous hurricanes brought possible solutions to this problem, it shows that our Ministers are not doing their jobs. Why nothing has been done? Just incomprehensible and totally irresponsible, IMHO.
all over the Caribbean that the BVI’s are an easy dump islands for derelict vessels due the lax enforcement of marine and coastal environmental laws, the needless layers of bureaucratic red tape, the corrupt/greedy politicians, the low standard of coastal protection and apparent blindness of the residents to eyesore wrecks scattered all over the once beautiful BVI.
40 years ago the old annual C&W telephone directory’s cover photo included a derelict steel cargo ship anchored in Road Harbour for several years!