'For years we played chess with people’s lives'- Premier Fahie
One of the questions Premier Fahie responded to on May 9, 2019, was whether he had conducted studies on the programme, which kicks in on Monday, May 13 and ends on Friday, May 31, 2019.
The regularisation programme is for eligible persons living and working in the Virgin Islands (VI) for 15 years and more.
‘This is not the way we treat people’ - Hon Fahie
According to Hon Fahie, “For years we have been playing chess with the lives of people, regularising them based on votes and before an election. This is not the way we treat people. History teaches us this when our forefathers left home to work, some even stayed and made those places their homes.”
The Leader of Government Business added that his Government is exercising courage and fairness, and not making decisions for political points.
“For long we have been hearing about policies being evaluated, re-evaluated, evaluated and then re-evaluated. We are doing the opposite. We are being bold and are making the decisions that others were afraid to do because of conflict of interest and personal interest. We cannot continue to play with people’s lives,” he said.
Premier Fahie reminded that persons being considered are not persons that just arrived in the Territory but those that are resident in the Virgin Islands (VI) for 15 or more years with no police record.
“They are not strangers being invited in. They are our church brothers and sisters, colleagues, friends, coworkers, limin' partners, neighbours. Many know no other home and for them this (BVI) is home.”
Does the Premier care about implications?
One of the criticisms of the short-term policy is that there may be implications for the Territory and persons wanted to know whether Government had seriously taken that into consideration before rolling out the fast track regularisation initiative.
Premier Fahie responded by saying he is a “BVIslander” with both parents also being indigenous.
“As BVIslanders, our forebearers always taught us to do what is right and the Bible says do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In this case, for those who want to truly make BVI their home and have been making a concerted effort in many ways contributing to this economy, as a country we must do what is right.”
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33 Responses to “'For years we played chess with people’s lives'- Premier Fahie”
Tell me is the government of the BVI truly for its citizens affairs? Every citizen in the BVI must read this comparison report and judge for yourself. BVI is it not time for us to speak up? Truly if you have lived in a country for over 20+ years you should be afforded rights in that country, but for everyone else it is NOW time to close the Door!
Bermuda is approximately (665 mi) with a population of 61,070 - migrant workers accounted for 20% of the total population.
British Virgin Islands is approximately (59 sq mi) BVI population 31,758 -In 2004, migrant workers accounted for 50% of the total population.
Now view the Bermuda government’s policies below:
Bermuda: Business Environment
Residence And Property
Children born in Bermuda, without either parent being Bermudian by birth or status at the time, are not Bermudian. They are NOT allowed to register to vote in any election after they become 18 years old. All British Commonwealth nationals including Australians, Britons, Canadians, New Zealanders and West Indians and all other non Bermudians of good character and reputation who have been long term residents of Bermuda for 20 or more years but were refused Bermuda status if they applied for it and were not registered to vote in 1979, are NOT allowed to register to vote.
There is no longer any mechanism providing for any other individuals who may also be long term residents of Bermuda, but who do not have close family ties with Bermudians, to become local citizens. Without this designation, they can never vote. And because they cannot, nor can they ever own mid priced real estate by Bermuda's standards. They are limited to the top 5% in price and Annual Rentable Value (ARV).
However, a few concessions were granted in 2002 to some non-Bermudians with over 20 years of continuous residence and demonstrated good character and conduct. They took effect on October 31, 2002 with the enactment of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 2002. Having a qualifying Bermudian connection is key to getting status after 20 years. Otherwise, there is no chance at all of getting Bermuda Status (citizenship). At the time of writing, about 400 people - 100 all of whose brothers and sisters are Bermudians; 80 parents of whose children are Bermudians; and 220 who were registered as voters on the Parliamentary Register before May 1, 1976 - are entitled to apply for Bermuda Status. All others with over 20 years of continuous residence can apply for Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC). Those with a Working Resident Certificate (WRC) - introduced in 1998 - must still apply for a PLC as some years have passed since they proved their eligibility. Having a PRC will provide security of employment and residence to long term residents. But having either a PRC or WRC does not entitle any non-Bermudian to buy lower or mid-priced real estate. They continue to be limited to the top 5% in price and Annual Rentable Value (ARV).
The Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 requires that a non-Bermudian, not being married to a Bermudian, must obtain a work permit, and this will only be granted if there is no suitably qualified Bermudian. Positions must first be advertised locally before a permit is applied for, although this requirement is often waived for senior positions. Work permits are normally granted for one year (longer in the case of senior posts). Permits are not normally given to people with more than two children.
The cost of a work permit is met by the future employer, and varies according to the proposed length of employment. Effective 1st April 2010, work permits costs range from USD721 for a one-year permit to USD5,150 for a five-year permit. The soon-to-be-introduced ten-year permit will cost USD20,000. The ten-year permit was announced during a speech to the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce by Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Kim Wilson in late April, 2011.
Foreigners are more or less unable to buy land or property, other than houses with an Annual Rental Value (ARV) in excess of BMD177,000.
In June 2007, the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2007 and seven related Regulations come into force representing the first complete overhaul and modernization of Part VI of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 since the Act came into effect. It marks the culmination of the legislative process through which this Part was amended to bring into law what was the Government’s land policy and, in particular, to address the problem of “fronting”, by which means non-Bermudians have gained control over land in Bermuda either while avoiding the licensing regime or in defiance of the Government’s land-holding policy. Additionally, the Regulations ensconce in law certain administrative rules supporting Part VI of the 1956 Act.
Purchase of properties by non-Bermudians requires a license from the Minister, and payment of a fee of 25% (at the time of writing) of the value of the property.
NB: This is a very abbreviated summary of the complex rules governing property purchase or rental in Bermuda.
There is no coincidence that he was invited to St. Kitts, and there he spoke about Unity between our Caribbean diaspora. We are but a spec among the giant global nations, and as such, it is time for one leader in the diaspora to challenge the mindsets of our Caribbean leaders to think beyond the they verses us mentality.
We are but One People who share similar experiences.
Today, our little nation is on the Caribbean stage (and the World) setting precedence in Sports, Constitutional Issues, and yes- Residency Grace of Regularization for our Caribbean Brothers and Sisters who have lived among us all these years. This is bigger than all the other Caribbean islands who have been conditioned to think one way for the benefit of others who do not have our best interest, as a collective, at heart.
These are unconventional times and require unconventional thinking if we expect to become sustainable within all this global chaos. One leader must take the lead for others to reflect and realize the wisdom for such actions.
Today is not the time to be doing the same things and expecting different results for our people.
British Overseas Territory
Area: 53.2 km²
Population: 65,441 (2017) World Bank
What happen to the people of the bvi.
It is a sad thing, what does the opposition have to say about this?
More are with him than against him and those who wish to do him harm.
It is the right thing to do. Let it be etched here, that in the present and not so distant future this single act done by this Premier will gain some of the most positive and significant results toward the uplifting of a downtrodden people and garner a more holistic and sustainable effort together, towards the building of our beloved country we all call home.
How can these people who have contributed to the building of our country, with children born in the territory, be relegated to begging for some basic human dignity after all these years. The wickedness of the few has finally been overturned.
The pyramid has indeed been flipped and our Premier is “undeniably” the capstone of sound reasoning and fairness along with his team, in these trying times of the loud few who are so adamant against change. Continue to steer the course Premier- more are with you and your team, than those against.
We giving vip 16 years in office bam
Sir or mam, please stop twisting things to make yourself look good! Bermuda is NOT 600 and something square miles. It is just over 50 something square miles - less than the BVI which is 59 square miles. BVI's population is around 30 000 while Bermuda's population is around 65 000 - twice as much as the BVI. And guess what? I don't hear them complaining that they are full.
Actually, they are happy for this size population. They have a reasonable size local market. Just ask a business man the importance of having people around to support your business. Maybe u could have a talk with Elton.
Lastly, do we need to use a country with such a discriminatory immigrant policy as our benchmark? What would have happened to many of us in the BVI if St. Thomas and Puerto Rico had similar policies in place? Do u think the immigrants in Bermuda are going to feel any patriotism towards that place? Do u think they are going to spend their money there? Do u think if something should happen, these people are going to stand up and fight for Bermuda? The answer is obvious.
I have a good friend working there. He is well paid but guess what? He doesn't invest a cent in the country. Reason being there is no future there for him so he has bought a home in his native country and more recently one in Atlanta. Can we blame him? Couldn't all this money help to grow the economy of Bermuda?
Hon. Premier, u r a wise man. What u r doing will benefit the BVI in the long run. We are not displacing anyone. We are not taking away anyone's birthright. All we want is to be able to continue contributing to this country without the fear of being sent back home.
issuing amnesty for residency solves the problem of people being conserned that they dont have security that their permits will be renewed each year and hence...dont " invest" in te territroy...so residency takes care of that.
giving belongership away so easily is dangerous for the people of the british virgin islands. i think that once residency is aprooved...then the wait period to apply for belingershio should.have been INCREASED from 2 year to 5 years but with the assurance that they will be processed withing 6 months. dont give it all away VIP