Vanterpool blasts gov’t over ‘leadership void’, stalled projects
Former legislator Mark Vanterpool has criticised the Virgin Islands government over what he described as a lack of leadership, stalled development projects and worsening social conditions across the territory.
Speaking during the launch of his new People’s Leadership Movement (PLM), Vanterpool said the territory had failed to make meaningful progress over the past four years and accused leaders of being unable to execute projects or implement programmes.
“The country is void of leadership. I have sat back the last four years and seen that the country is void of leadership. We are going nowhere. We can’t make decisions. We can’t institute programmes. We can’t execute projects. We don’t know how to do it,” Vanterpool stated.
Vanterpool pointed to infrastructure issues, economic hardship and delays in development as evidence of stagnation in the territory.
“You can see it on the roads. You can see it in the homes. You can see it with poor people who can’t put food on the table, who have difficulty,” Vanterpool stated.
The former Fourth District representative also argued that the territory needed “a new type of leadership” capable of executing projects and creating opportunities outside of the traditional financial services industry.
“We want to be able to provide alternatives to the industry. We are a financial services jurisdiction. It is not going to last forever,” Vanterpool stated.
He suggested that the territory should explore becoming a transhipment hub and expand fisheries processing in Anegada.
“How can we shift to what we may call a transhipment port like other places in the Caribbean, other places in Panama and so on? We have the ability to do that,” Vanterpool stated.
Vanterpool also criticised what he described as years of discussion without implementation.
“These are things that we talk about forever, but nobody’s executing them. I am the guy who can do that,” Vanterpool stated.
The former minister, who played a leading role in the development of the Cruise Pier project during the National Democratic Party administration, said execution and vision were missing from the current political landscape.
“The last person who did that was me, Mark Vanterpool, when we executed the Cruise Pier. That’s all I’m saying,” Vanterpool stated.
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What Mark is saying is fundamentally correct. Business people are often effective because they operate in the world of execution—they understand how to make decisions, cut through bureaucracy, and move projects from concept to reality. Too many other professions remain trapped in the theoretical realm, where discussion becomes endless and deliberation substitutes for progress. In management terms, this is often called analysis paralysis.
There is, of course, a place for feasibility studies, business plans, and proper due diligence. Prudence matters. But prudence and efficiency are not opposites. One can be careful without being stagnant, and responsible leadership requires both sound judgment and the willingness to act. The real danger is not moving too quickly—it is allowing endless debate to become an excuse for doing nothing at all.
The voting public would do well do leave this Hon gentleman in the world of business. I think the best description of his modus operandi these days is unstable.
We certainly do not need that!
Wherenhe been while this getting worse and worse. Doing nothing but now hw smells the scent of power and he back.
Not for us just for himself.
The man is talking the truth . No true economic growth for the past 15 years.