UK should give BVI resources to get to independence
The United Kingdom (UK) should do more in its efforts at helping to make the BVI and other Overseas Territories (OTs) more self-governing, particularly if the territories have shown an interest in moving in this direction.
This was the viewpoint shared by Junior Minister for Culture & Tourism, Luce Hodge-Smith, who expressed that the UK has the necessary scope to give the BVI and other Overseas Territories more.
“What a majority of [OTs want], they want more autonomy. They want to be able to make decisions for themselves based on the fact that we are developing, we are doing things to help our people to grow,” Hodge-Smith commented on the Talking Points radio programme.
She offered that this should be done even though some decisions that are being made by the OTs are not always pleasing to the UK.
“If all these overseas territories and dependent countries are wishing for more autonomy or even independence, I think you have a right to listen to their wishes,” the Junior Minister added.
Hodge-Smith said she felt the UK not only has a right to enquire but also to assist OTs to achieve the status they want. “I believe that the responsibility is of the United Kingdom to give us the resources to get to where we need to go as well,” she stated.
She further explained that there are existing arrangements in place, such as educational sharing agreements which allow the UK to help with educators in the territory as well as assistance for athletes in the BVI.
“They have all the necessary skills, all the necessary experience to guide us and to help us to get over the hump that we are at now,” Hodge-Smith said. “They may not want to give us the finances, but at least give us the technical assistance and not just for prison and for police.”
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We don’t want independence!!!
They are.
Thet are pointing out to the public how some in government can’t be trusted.
We can’t even follow simple administrative rules… how are we going to rule.
This is harsh, but if we were independent. We would be Hati now after the Fahie mess.
And why should they help us again? We need to know where all the money went for the last few decades. Maybe we could have been in a better place to do it for ourselves.
Gyul go sort out district 4 mess from here talking @$$ishness
You showed us the kind of person you are, you are up to no good, we don’t want independence, if that’s why you ran for office you are wasting your time. You as bad as the VIP you will fit right in.
Hodge-Smith said she felt the UK not only has a right to enquire but also to assist OTs to achieve the status they want. “I believe that the responsibility is of the United Kingdom to give us the resources to get to where we need to go as well,” she stated. Before you printed this you should have try and find out if the people of the BVI want independence.
You really think the majority of people want independence? Seems only the politicians want it. What you should be talking about is making basic services work and cleaning up government.
Independence is a must the sooner the better
Thank God for thinking like that.I share thr same dentiment like you.
You want independence but you also want the UK to give you everything? Well, isn’t that the point of independence that you can do those things yourself so no longer require help?
Oh the irony…..help us to be independent.
So, after the CoI report concluded that there was substantial evidence of malfeasance in the last administration, and its predecessors to the extent that the government was not acting in the best interests of its constituents, the UK should “give” the BVI independence?
Clearly this is the elephant in the room, which, should be addressed once and for all. It’s primarily the politicians that keep claiming the people want independence, so, let’s have a referendum and find out. If it turns out the majority of the people want independence, then, it’s quite likely the UK would assist them achieve their aim. However, conversely, if that’s not the case, then, the politicians need to heed the people’s will and drop the subject once and for all, because, their responsibility is to serve the people, not themselves.
Stop believing and spreading your ignoramus that you are an indigenous BVI lander. You are lost along with the rest of you who thumbed up your post. You don’t know who you are and therefore cannot know where you can go.
You are perfect subjects; perfect mental slaves, just the way the powers that be wants you…uneducated, uninformed, and dumb.
Do yourself a favor and go and educate your self on your history. You need it. With your belief that you are indigenous to these lands explains the position that you are taking.
Stop being ignorant. It’s 2023. The same internet that you are posting your ignorance on is the same one you can educate yourself with.
You are a lost soul at the moment, but you do not have to be forever. Let google be your friend, or simply pull up a chair to some of the elders in your community, ask questions, and just listen and learn. Stop being ignorant! Enough already.
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING ? AFTER ALL THE TAXPAYERS MONEY THAT WAS AND STILL BEING SQUANDERED , YOU STILL BAREFACED ENOUGH TO UTTER THOSE WORDS , / NEXT THING YOU WILL ASKING THE UK TO DO IS ,WIPE YOUR ASZ AFTWR YOU USED THE TOILET , YOU MUDT BE READING FROM THE COACH’S SCRIPT , OR IS THERE A NEW ONE ? ? EVEN A DUMMY CAN SEE
SEE HOW STUPID YOU HAVE MADE YOURSELF LOOK ? DUH ?
The current government budget would be large enough for a competent government to move toward and get ready for independence.
But since our government is corrupt to the core (looking at you Natalio your Andrews little lap dog) there is no such development.
That we need the UK to help with our independence means we can’t handle independence.
Can you imagine Natalio managing this stuff without oversight. Lord have mercy.
Yes, they owe us for all the hundreds of years that the benefits of our blood, sweat and tears filled coffers in London and for the bodies forcefully displaced from their homeland and thrown into the Atlantic ocean. I’ll take it as reparations.
I agree, the so-called ‘indigenous’ needs to educate themselves because I doubt they are Carib or Taino.
But what you say is the exact reason we don’t want independence. Some of you want independence because you see it as our historical right and in most situations it would be. But the BVI and most OTs are different because we are SO SMALL. In practical terms what does independence mean? It means becoming a nation, like St. Kitts, Antigua, Ghana, France, China, Turkmenistan, etc etc. We sit at a table next to those countries and the same thing that happen to Antigua and St. Kitts will happen to us. We will be leaned on, offered ‘free’ things like roads and airports and hospitals and in return we are a) owned by the donor and b)expected to support the loaner in international forums like the UN, IMF, IWC, ICC, etc.
In other words we become owned by a different set of foreigners.
Now, that’s just one level. On another level, we will more likely be owned immediately by those other big players in the region – the cartels. Then we become a client state to them, as well. Is that freedom?
And finally, all of this is inevitable bc the BVI population is so small we will be a nation run by just a few related people, almost all who went to the one school, and who have alliances and hostilities with each other going back generations, and who have shown no care so far for the bettering of these islands as a whole and those who are not in their small kin circle – happy to share contracts and completely crazy ‘development’ ideas among themselves in search of profit, but not think about the whole population that lives here and helped them gain their wealth and status.
So yes, Styles, the man should educate himself. But no, just because you know black history doesn’t mean you have an instant solution. Educated BVIslanders need to get over the simple arithmetic of independence and be intelligent, smart, strategic about our children and grandchildren’s future. This independence talk is knee-jerk and simple minded. We are smart, let’s use our position to our advantage and not go jumping off a cliff into the abyss because our simple view of the world says we must be ‘free’ when ‘freedom’ might look like a whole new kind of hell.
The government is operating a $413 million budget for 2023. This is for a population of no more than 40,000 people – so $10325 per person. BVI doesn’t need any help funding anything. Where does all that money go????
IS SAYING )> I SWEAR TO YOU , THE VIRGIN MARY AIN’T GOT NOTHING ON ME , AM HOLY
I knew she could not be trusted.
future is complete integration into the UK with an MP in Parliament. Independence train left the station back in the 70’s.
Thank you I was about to light this id**t up before I came across your post. There are too many well fed slaves in BVI with no ambition but to remain as they are. Times are changing rapidly while these clueless idiots block progress and waste time.
what BVI has become because of envy jealousy and greed.
@Indigenous BVIslander
No way are you any sort of indigenous saying you dont want independence. Not now is reasonable but not ever nah you dont remember were we came from.
We need a specialty slavery museum to teach people like you our history before we end up having it repeated.
When they start passing down those laws from Europe you will say we are in digital & financial slavery.
Freedom of Speech is an American gold standard it does not truly exist in Europe & it is not enshrined, let that sink in.
Iv never heard a true VI lander say “yes I was England to come down and dissolve our people, our culture, and tie our future into that of the old slave master who cant seem to stop STEALING & starting wars that never touch their shores”
When they sign you up for the world war 3 draft you will say
“no no I am ‘Indigenous VI lander’, we have nothing to do with England’s foreign relations, we dont have a partnership with them, its a boss slave relationship, we are not them, we are oppressed.”
You better make moves for your future generations who will be demanding independence, while its possible Mr/Ms Indigenous.
Boss stop reading those history books that were written by those who want to brainwash you and go read the true history. This Carib and Arawaks thing is a myth. Even the religion that they give you that has no historical fact base is a myth.
We are the indigenous people, not the Caribs or Tainos. The Caribs were brought in from the bearer Straits and more whites and Indians came here as slaves than blacks they are fooling you.
Anyone who can give out money envelopes or knows that money envelopes were being shared on his or her behalf is not good for government. He or she is corrupt. We do not want independence not under this government. We need more line Mather and Ronnie leading first.
I am all for Black People sailing their own ship… Not in favor of the mentality that we cannot move forward and direct our own destiny..
But, when people tell you they running for office to steal and full their pockets, then win elections and become elected, do you not think they are fullfiling what they intended before bein got elected?
Unfortunately, our peple are still politically immature…
No, we will not prosper as an independent nation under that leadership mentality.
More, it is highly doubted that the transparency and other mechanisims are dettering them… Who puts the rat togaurd the. cheese? OnlyBVI locals.
We are infor a long four years, sadly.
Hence, many are deeply concrned about our country and its future.
it was called the COI. We can’t handle independence until we get a handle on our small-minded political corruption.
I certainly do not want someone who can’t figure that out in a position of power.
why not just have a referendum- do the public want independence or not? If ‘not’ then it can stopped being used to stir up trouble.
To your point, the BVIs had a GDP in excess of $ 1 billion/year for going on two decades. BVI population was around 25,000, resulting in a GDP per capita of about $ 40K, now down to about $ 10K per your calculation. Like you said, where did the money go?
To be talking about independence at this time one would have to be pretty clueless!
She serious? She thinks England shoujd give us money to help us be independent? Wtf should they do that?
We have numpties in these islands. She one a them.
Gaining independence would be a HUGE MISTAKE. Look are all of the other Caribbean countries that are independent and see broken infrastructures, crime, corruption etc. Those countries still under a bigger flag are in much better shape. Learn from them!
She should start with Road Town and parking.