Walwyn, Premier clash over lost UK loan guarantee
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley and Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn butted heads as they confronted the issue of the now-withdrawn offer of a $400 million loan guarantee made by the United Kingdom (UK) after hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
The discussion arose from a question Walwyn posed in the House of Assembly (HOA) yesterday, asking whether the right decision was made by Premier Wheatley’s predecessor, Andrew Fahie, to decline the UK’s offer after Walwyn’s previously governing National Democratic Party (NDP) had negotiated the loan guarantee before being voted out of office in 2019.
In response, Premier Wheatley said there were discussions between the former Premier and the UK government on the conditions attached to the loan guarantee and argued that accepting the deal would have taken the BVI outside the limits of its borrowing guidelines.
He also shared that there was no agreement on what would happen after the territory went outside those limits.
But Walwyn disputed the position that the BVI could have gone outside of its borrowing guidelines in accepting the loan agreement and argued that those matters were negotiated away before the NDP demitted office.
He also suggested that it was dishonest for Premier Wheatley to suggest that the UK attached the Recovery and Development Agency’s (RDA) establishment as a criterion for accepting the loan guarantee, noting that this was something that was proposed by the BVI at the time.
Premier Wheatley, however, noted that it was super storms caused by climate change that put the BVI in the position of having to seek the loan guarantee in the first place. He suggested the territory should not be subjected to unreasonable borrowing guidelines, but should instead be the beneficiary of concessional financing to assist in its rebuilding process.
He further argued that there should be unity among lawmakers, and not division, as they moved to hold first-world countries accountable for the problems caused by climate change, which has consistently affected Small Island Developing States (SIDs) like the BVI.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
All the UK required was details of how the money was going to be spent, simple accountability. If I was going to lend my son or daughter $1,000 I would want to know what he/she was going to spend it on.
A man who is charged and may go jail over corruption is behaving as if this is no big deal and remembering things how and what he wants from the past NDP. I hope he remembers the $8mill plane heist also that needs to be accounted for.
One minute the Premier whats rid of all ties to the UK, the next he is claiming the BVI should have received concessional financing?
Per head of population the BVI is a far worse polluter than the UK and many other first world countries. Wheatley need to put his own ship in order and stop all the pollution emanating from Pockwood Pond and support green energy sources.
Funny man is arrested and charged
Ayo continue with a criminal in the house questioning about funds he mismanage and got arrested for. Ayo here ting in this place.
Who he representing buddeh?
Balo crew.
Sl**ande ignores the elephant in the room which is how can we have needed the loan guarantee given the billions of government revenue paid in since the 1980s.
Why was everything built so badly in the first place?
Why did the BVI have no, or insufficient, reserves?
Why did the BVI Government not insure in many cases?
As a taxpayer (but not a voter) I think I can guess, but I’d like to know.
but myron cannot walk in showade or Lorna shoes myron just grand standing and and trying to make the news
Myron you talking nonsense to get likes and sound relevant. BVI, it’s a good thing we didn’t accept that loan guarantee. How could we have gone outside the borrowing guidelines and accepted the loan guarantee? Anguilla accepted the loan guarantee and look what happen 13% GST on everything. Most folks up there have to work 2 jobs to get by. Govt imposed that 13% tax on their own people because they accepted that loan guarantee. Myron here talking piss
The High School wall money finish but you want to get you hand onore . First thing you don’t have no say and everyone of you in Government can’t be trusted ..
The BVI is a serious polluter. Sewage in sea, reclaiming land from the sea (LOOK WHAT GETS TOSSED IN), destruction of Mangroves, poor road drainage and runoff, smoke from the dump, fumes from generator.
Andrew was wise not to take the loan grantee, today all our rights would have been gone, Myron not ready to lead a little restaurant must less a country
@climate change, and he should stop talking out his azz and invest the environmental funds into pockwood pond incinerator. As a matter of fact the blind VIP supporters prefer hand outs and popularity over their health. Set ah….!
Changing the relationship with the UK doesn’t mean cutting all ties with them. They will still be head of state but we would move from our current status to the next one in the developmental chain similar to going from form 1 to form 2.
fu**y man was in good form yesterday but leave him Lorna and Natalio them UK boys will deal with him and his wall.
They would not have arrested and charged such a big fish with no evidence and without a strong case, this will come full circle.
Yuh will geh yuh “Wig” split in two
The storms were not caused by global warming.
There have always been hurricanes.
Does he talk non sense about everything.
Really time for this idiot to go.
My Run asking the right questions and sorting through the BS scare tactics
You must be a Myron follower!
Please note our GDP is higher than Angullia’s. We wouldn’t need to implement 13% on Virgin Islanders
Irma & Maria were 6 years ago. This UK loan issue was dead and buried in 2019. No sense in exhuming it now in 2023!
I am truly no Fan of Myron BUT my understanding of his question was: What other solution was taught of after the refusal of the UK Loan guarantee. I thought it was a simple question needing a simple answer. I know when the Former Premier was around and heard of the conditions of the Loan He said at a meeting in VG long before Elections that He was willing to ask every Trust Company in the BVI to donate $5,000.00 each which was totalling millions of Dollars to help with the Recovery. Maybe that was not communicated to the rest of his Members or maybe that was a pie in the Sky statement, BUT he said it.
Myron don’t back down that boy and i must say boy running the country in to the ground he needs to get out of set
Is how Andrew wise why he is still in the US and no longer Premier?
WISDOM has him tucked away instead of serving his country
Get off Myron … you dont have a toe nail of the education to help this country that Myron has.. sit dung
Hold him by his balls Myron dont back down he sounds so foolish just padding answers with no substance
This till now? The Governor u have white men taking over the prison. Talk that.
don’t know who’s who, but this always reading like a clown show of joker fools in power
– pointing fingers at :
each other
UK
G-20
USA
white ppl
island ppl
look urself.
BLACK & WHITE
you elected ur crooked, incestuous, and uneducated leaders and they pissed $4 billion into sand
over 25 yrs
simple. BVI can’t lead this place. (you . me. we. )
UK, if your own empire has any relevance in the future, clean this sht up and set it str8. it is a small format problem. easier to solve than big ones.
UK shouldn’t have a country if they can’t fix this fkup fiefdom of 30k souls and gold in the streets.
It may be higher, but has is that money spread in he community?