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Power struggle? 'Governor not crediting VI Gov't for COVID-19 fight' - Skelton-Cline
According to the 'Honestly Speaking' radio show moderator, on the April 3, 2020 special edition of his show, the Governor's statement was littered with 'red flags' which he said included too many references to himself as an independent authority in the Territory, although the COVID-19 fight has largely been stewarded by the locally elected government.
No credits to Fahie Gov't - Skelton-Cline
The Governor, as part of his statement on the arrival of the test kits, said: "I would like to reiterate the commitments I made to you at the start of the week. I will keep my communication clear, regular and open. I will listen to your concerns and answer your questions; and I will do everything in my constitutional power to serve you during this time."
Governor Jaspert also noted that he will continue lobbying the UK for support, "I will continue to work, on behalf of the people of the British Virgin Islands, to secure further supplies and equipment from the UK. I intend to provide another equipment update next week, which I hope will include more test kits, PPE and isolation facilities."
According to Skelton-Cline, the statement had too many first-person pronouns. "I see a reference in here where what the Governor is doing, is almost independent from what the government is doing, and/or not at least giving the government the credit for what it has been done in protecting and caring for its own people."
Is Governor running the Territory?
He said the references by the Governor to himself in several instances is especially worrying since it can signal that the Territory is now back in the hands of the UK through the Governor.
"That should never be the case under any circumstances, it should be clear to us, this elected government is spending some $12M prior to what the governor is purporting here, that the United Kingdom is doing."
Skelton-Cline, a day earlier, on April 4, urged the local government to stop looking to the UK for help, accusing the Crown of providing lacklustre and no meaningful support to the VI, following statements by the Governor that the VI can finance its own initiatives to help persons negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Andrew A. Fahie Administration had requested a grant from the UK to assist persons made unemployed due to COVID-19 measures.
“We [VI] have healthy reserves and the Social Security Board Fund is very robust," Governor Jaspert said.
This led to Mr Skelton-Cline remarking: "We have to do what we must do for ourselves, do not look [to the UK], the UK does not have a good history when it comes to assisting the Virgin Islands in any meaningful way."
10% of population needs testing
The 'man of the cloth' further said the 480 UK supplies of COVID-19 kits is far below 10% of the Territory's population.
"We are grateful but that's not what we asked for Governor," he said, adding that the Territory needs around 3000 kits to test at least 10% of the population and the financial grant to support those left unemployed by the virus.
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65 Responses to “Power struggle? 'Governor not crediting VI Gov't for COVID-19 fight' - Skelton-Cline”
The contents of his statements are modelled on basic management techniques and are what he needs to be seen to be saying as the Governor.
Unfortunately, he does not have obvious leadership abilities and presents himself in a very middle management type way. It would be so much more reassuring if McCleary was still the Governor.
However, let's be fair and reasonable - so what if Jaspert is now trying to big himself up in his announcements - he did accept some of the blame for the chaos of last Thursday.
Edmund is the correct spelling!!!!!!!!!!
After the shi# you all did in those 3 days sounds like close to 90% needs to be tested.
Look how he allowed the police to embarrass John c and cavin m
We to soft in this country
i can't believe this what cline want to talk about division!!!!
you should be ashamed of urself. you are so petty.
keep off the air if you have nothing to say bose.
He is bad news for the people and cannot get over that the VIP is in power via a democracy. I keep asking? WHO elected him?
listen bit@h in our days we only heard or seen from Mr White during the Queen’s Birthday Parade but have the right to your personal bull-$h!t
Time has shown he’s a hater of w....... All.
The governor had nothing to say against the government. Go sit down somewhere please.
The VI is supposedly a self-governing OT of the UK;however, the reality is that it is partially self-governing. There is a jungled mix of shared responsibilities with the crown being directly responsible for a)external affairs, b)defence, c)internal security, d)RVIPF, e)civil service, f)Her Majesty’s Prison(shared), and g)judiciary; the local government, the rest. In addition to the listed functions, the crown rep seems to have unbounded reserved powers. For example, under the previous government, the crown rep didn’t like the budget allocation to the RVIPF and used his reserved power to increase the budget allocation to the RVIPF, embarrassing the Dr.Smith administration. Other departments were underfunded but didn’t get any additional funding. Why?
Moreover, many of functions falling under the purview of the crown rep are funded by VI taxpayers; the VI went off grant-in-aid in the 1970s under the Dr. Williard Wheatley administration. Since that time, the UK did fund the construction the new Her Majesty’s Prison at Balsom Ghut and partially funded the new government house. The VI needs an urgent constitutional review. The planter class saw the VI as impoverished locale and flee seeing the VI as only good as a bird sanctuary. The VI people worked hard to build and move the territory to the position it is now. Its success may have caused some Britons to lament that they live in flats while VI residents live in mansions on the hills. The signal from the crown is that the VI should look to community self-help. CSC is right in that the VI should look inward for help. Parasites ( I will get blasted for this cryptic term but it is all good) depend on the host to survive but if the host challenges the parasite may die. The UK is battling its own Coronavirus challenges.
Thanks you for your voice of truth Claude you continue to speak truth to power
Depend on your sense of self reliance, personal reponsibility and morals.
If you cannot depend on yourself, then you are a total and complete failure
Neither Andrew nor the UK can help, Are they suppose to be changing your diaper? Your sense of entitlement is pathetic .
Our so called leaders and pet pastor need to hide their faces in shame .
After the 2017 hurricane the ndp disappeared, now in the 2020 covid 19 the vip is most present so the uk boy needs to take a back seat
Yes!
In time of a crisis, it's the Governor who has the Constitutional Power under section 27 of the BVI Constitution to declare a state of emergency, and order a curfew under statutory laws.
Is the Governor running the territory right now?
Constitutionally yes!
Clearly,Skelton-Cline does not understand our system of Government in time of a crisis..
One love BVI.
No we do not have a state of emergency fool, so we do not need gus with confusion and divineness
The go..... blogs to much