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‘Let’s go back to the municipal system’– Doug Wheatley
“It might be a pipe dream at the moment but I would like to see us take a different approach to this whole issue of governance,” he said on this show aired on Radio ZBVI 780 AM.
“I think that the legislative council/House of Assembly system is not the appropriate instrument for what we need in order to accomplish our development of the country,” he said.
“We need to have municipal Government in which we elect persons to deal with specific issues in the district and they can raise issues. They can also get a certain amount of money from Central Government that they can use to take care of all the little nitty gritty within their districts. That would be a far more efficient system,” he said.
“All you have to do is look back at the days when we had a government agent. The theory behind having a government agent was very good. This was a person who would look at all the needs of the districts and move to get them fixed or corrected,” said Wheatley.
'Big man Government'
The talk show host added that the current system of Government is a big man Government. “They have highfalutin members of the House of Assembly and they have to find things to occupy them,” he said. “Whereby, if you didn’t have all of that then you could reduce the size of the House of Assembly and in order to compensate for the reduction of size of the House of Assembly you have an increase in the size of the Municipal Government and that I think would be a better system,” said Wheatley.
He noted that right next door in the US Virgin Islands and in many Caribbean countries there have been Municipal Governments and he said they have been functioning well. “I think it is more appropriate for our little 40,000 population territory,” he said.
Of late, particularly District Representatives who are members of the Opposition have been complaining of being starved of resources to attend to the affairs of their districts. They said they remain at the mercies of Central Government who decides who gets what in terms of petty contracts and other works.
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14 Responses to “‘Let’s go back to the municipal system’– Doug Wheatley”
the At Large System. You hardly see them in your district (at least not those that live in the other districts). They each alotted something like $150,000 to spend in the district. One member use it to give away at Christmas time and other holidays.
Social Development is there to give assistance when/where needed. Social Security is also there to assist in times
of need.
As a Big Man Government, they Big Men (in the ministries), can spite who they feel like; especially the members of the Opposition, and their districts.
I recall back in 2013, Opposition member Christopher complained bitterly about how an unelected person/member of the ruling party would come into his district and give out contracts. He referred to it as "playing by the rules of the jungle".
As I'm writing, it is alleged that the candidate running on the Ndp ticket in the 9th, is giving out contracts and selecting certain supporters to approach government for contracts.
As it now stands, the system is very corrupt, inefficient and wasteful and creates divisiveness; Definitely not sustainable.
Thanks Doug
you and edmond needs to form ayo own party.
When you get elected, change what you want.
Until then nothing aint goin to happen.
Secondly, as Dougie and others have suggested in the past, the VI needs to develop a national development plan. Once a national development plan is approved (by voters by referendum) it should be executed regardless of what party is in power. To significantly change an approved national development plan, 60-75% voter approval should be required or 75% HOA approval.
Thirdly, strong and effectivel leadership/management should be able to focus and allot resources to districts where work is needed regardless of party affiliation of district rep. Premier needs to provide effective oversight of resources allocation to ensure that resources are equitably distributed and are going where the greatest needs are in districts.
Fourthly, a system of policy makers( elected officials) and adminstrators (civil servants) can he considered. For example, a city manager or whatever title can be hired to lead the civil service and report to the HOA. Policy makers pass policies and adminstrators implement them.
Finally, commission an ad hoc committee to look evaluate current system and make recommendation for residents consideration and approval thru a referendum.