Travesty! Penn slams $100K budget for Prospect Reef Managing Director
A proposed $100,000 allocation for a Prospect Reef Managing Director was rejected in the House of Assembly after two opposition members challenged the wisdom of funding a senior post at a property they described as defunct. And
Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn objected to the allocation during debate on the Appropriation Act, questioning what functions a Managing Director would perform at a site that remains undeveloped years after repeated policy commitments were made.
Penn said members had sought clarity on how existing Prospect Reef allocations were being spent and had not received sufficient detail to justify an additional senior salary.
“You’re telling me you’re paying a managing director $100,000 to manage Prospect Reef. What are they managing? We’ve got to do better in terms of managing the resources of this country,” he told the House.
Penn argued that tourism development was “too critical” to warrant funding administrative overheads at a property that has yet to advance to construction or operations. He pressed for answers on the status of the request for proposals (RFP) and the identification of a preferred bidder, saying the absence of visible progress undermined the case for a Managing Director post.
“We haven’t heard anything about the RFP that went out. Have you made a decision? Who’s the preferred bidder? What is happening with the project?” he asked.
Managing ‘rat and bush’
Earlier in the debate, Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn criticised the idea of appointing a Managing Director for what he characterised as a defunct property. Walwyn said the proposal exemplified misplaced priorities within the estimates, noting that Prospect Reef has remained in disrepair despite years of discussion. He described the plan as paying to manage “rat and bush” and questioned the value for money.
Prospect Reef, once earmarked as a flagship tourism and mixed-use development, has featured in successive budgets and policy statements but has not moved beyond preparatory stages. The government appointed a board for the Prospect Reef redevelopment project in early 2025, but no major developments have been announced since.
Penn maintained that approving the salary would signal acceptance of stagnation rather than progress. “What’s happening with Prospect Reef is a travesty,” Penn said while urging an update from the government.
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Hear this f**l! He make the East look so stupid once again!. I pray someone with sense will challenge this man.
What are you managing for your salary? Rats, Bush, Vagrants, Bad streets, gangs, crime, poor water distribution, sewage, the block, bush cutting etc…. are you overpaid????
When we look at prospect reef and district 8 there is no big difference.
A Managing Director for Prospect Reef will have core duties to act in the government (and creditors’, if insolvent) best interest, manage strategy/operations (including redevelopment planning for the site), ensure financial stability, attract investors, and uphold BVI law, requiring diligence, honesty, proper purpose, and detailed documentation, especially concerning the major redevelopment and financial health post-destruction and as it goes through redevelopment.
The things you all do and say without thinking it’s best we put an AI government in place instead of wasting money on you all.
You made yourself sound like a fool with that comment. Honorable penn knows what he’s talking about. there is nothing to manage at prospect reef for a hundred thousand dollars the best thing to do is develop the plaace then put managing directors in place but I can bet my last dollar that this vip cant get prospect reef started
Next time please read over before posting. Pure bovine excreta
You can come up with all kinds of duties for such a title but the facts remain not even cutting the bush is prioritized by the managing director. Marlon is right. This response is idiotic at best as there is nothing to manage, nothing to liquidate and there is no effort to get an investor for the property. Nothing is lost by not wasting the $100,000 for a director. That same money could be spent to fix the 7th district. And just as you say an AI government is much better the the current vip government
What does this appointed board have to say? Have they submitted any reports? Have they taken any action at all besides collecting their stipend??
Marlon said all of that and still said nothing. Okay you are against them hiring an MD without justification, but what is your contribution? What do you think should be done with Prospect Reef? Just standing in HOA every week making noise and getting paid for it. Is his salary justified?
Mather confirmed that you can’t get anything done siting on the opposition. All the opposition can do is bring things to light.
Here we go again! Even unoccupied, dilapidated properties need to be managed. The site is not secure and anyone can access it. D8 rep has been around for 15+ years and even been a minister yet he did not squawk about the lack of underdevelopment of this prime real estate project.
Maybe the way the property is looking is due to the fact that no one; nobody, has been focused on it. A board can’t do much without someone making day to day decisions (landscaping, security etc.) to preserve and secure the property. What if it was $45k/yr; would smurfette get so animated? What are smurfette’s ideas for that property? Great at drawing attention to the problems but short (pun intended) on providing solutions.
NEXT!!!!!
Another post to het a piece of the pie without justification
Is this what independence would look
Like We ate finding loop holes to look
Like we ate transparent Mote swindling of . Money under pretext
Time to give it back to the people it was stolen from.