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VI must be completely independent by August 1, 2027 - Skelton-Cline
"I am a strong advocate of an independent and self-determined path, I believe we ought to set a time, a date in place when we can achieve that," Skelton-Cline said on the Thursday, July 8, 2020, edition of his show, Honestly Speaking, on ZBVI 780 AM.
"I certainly have declared out there [that] by August 1st of 2027, I believe and I am working towards us becoming an independent country," he said.
Over the course of his popular radio show, the man of the cloth has been highly critical of the UK's relationship with the Territory, including calling for the removal of remnants from colonial rule, such as the Governor and that office.
Renaming Territory Day
Following the killing of George P. Floyd in the US, he had told his listening audience that the UK, through the Governor, had placed its knees on the collective necks of Virgin Islanders in a move of oppression.
"By the way, I'm going completely away from using the word Territory, that's the UK designation of us. We are their Territory, that's the way they see it, but this is our county," he said.
"I hope that this is the last year, that we are celebrating what has been termed as Territory Day, and this government, in particular, will move to change the name of that celebration from Territory Day to Virgin Islands Day."
The Virgin Islands Government has expressed disappointment that the UK has failed to assist the VI in a more tangible way in its greatest time of need, including after the destructive hurricanes of 2017 and amidst the global coronavirus pandemic.
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42 Responses to “VI must be completely independent by August 1, 2027 - Skelton-Cline”
He want that for him and bishop cline to take over the bvi?
British Territories include Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos, and various other islands.
Claude please sit back down.....
If wishes were horses beggars would ride.
This b*** needs to go back to Detroit.
i find it interesting that you use the phrase...."August 1st of 2027, I believe and I am working towards us becoming an independent country,". really ? you aree so egotistucal that you believe that you can work towards this date. ????
i fully agree with you that indipendance should be explored, the people of this country be involved wholeheartedly in this discussion, a referendum held and then indeed self determination os either achieved or it isnt...but dont for a minute think that you have the right to be the self proclaimed spokesman for us...please. !
you are not an elected official who represent the people ( though i sometimes believe your contract with the government quietly includes an agenda of things the government cannot be seen to saying)
say you piece of course..but please dint think for one minute that you have the power to " work towards ....becoming indipendant" ..etc
Respectfully submitted.
Independence? Ok where will the millions of $$$ come from to pay to
UN? Oh and we would not have US$
Anymore. What will our currency be? Our stamps have all to be redesigned
Thousands of companies registered in the BVI have to be renamed like BVI Tourist board, BVI Taxi Association, BVI Red Cross, BVI Football association
What passport will we have? Any country we want to travel to will require a visa. May be Donald Trump wants to buy the BVI than our problems are all Solved.
Though I’m not averse to independence, IMO, the VI is not yet ready for political independence. The issue of independence for the VI seems to be a recurring theme. As such, it may be time to let VI residents decide on the VI policical status. It is time to Discover, Debate, Decide. Put the issue to a referendum and let a super majority of voters decide——=>60%. Other non-self-governing territories have had independence referendums.
Moreover, the VI must pursue some measure of economic independence before pursuing political independence. Like other OTs, the VI has a myriad of vulnerabilities and challenges, including: resource-poor, high import/low export, small domestic markets, heavy dependence on a narrow range of products, limited ability to influence domestic prices, remoteness from major markets, limited economy of scope and scale, small but growing population, heavy government involvement in economy, limited energy, telecommunications and transportation capacity, highly vulnerable to external economic and environmental shocks, vulnerable to natural disasters(disaster prone), fragile services economic base.....etc. These issues need to be address before jumping aboard the independence train. The cost-benefit of political independence must be fully explored before jumping aboard the independence train. Many of our regional sister countries have jumped aboard the independence train and the jury is still out on the prudence of the move.
The RDA funds,the Soc Sec Grant will be in the pockets of who we think, funding their retirement. The VI will be unrecognizable and unwanted by the UK and by many wh were once proud VIslanders. Cline knows .
Just because you have a podium and time on your hands to talk none-sense - dosen't give you the right to yap! I heard that you are some sort of pastor/preacher - so, If you run out of topics - preach the word. Otherwise, STOP with this kind of ignorant non-sense; you know better. Better yet, put down your microphone and go sit down or go back to Detroit and relax yourself.
But I wouldn't propose becoming a county in place of a territory. County councils don't have much power.
It will be interesting to see where the financial services industry is by 2027, how that would fare given independence, and whether marijuana has provided a big enough high to make all other problems go away.