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Should there be term limits for politicians in VI?

- Callers to Speak out BVI agree
Callers to Speak out BVI mostly agreed for term limits for politicians. Photo: VINO
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI - A remark in the House of Assembly (HOA) February 14, 2012 about term limits for politicians, has spilled out into the public for debate it seems as callers to the radio programme Speak out BVI voiced their opinion on it.

One of the members of the HOA during a debate suggested that there should be term limits so that some of the politicians, who have been in the House for a very long time without a break could get an opportunity to exit the House and see what life is like on the outside and maybe return if they are re-elected another time where they would be able to bring a different perspective to the debates.

According to one of the callers to the programme, which was aired February 14, 2012, she would like to see no more than four terms for politicians in office “because we come to think that we own those seats and during campaign you hear people talk about coming to run against me in my district, it is not your district, we loaned it to you for a time and you would be lucky if we return you...And you hear people talk about my Ministry. It is not your Ministry, it is the Ministry to which you have oversight for a time and when they get in there they feel like they are on a path with Jesus Christ, nobody is to say anything about them, not question what they do...”

The caller further said she wished that in this four year term of Government, that enough votes would be garnered to put term limits for no more than four terms. “Go out and then you could come back because a lot of them would not do like Oliver Cills and Terrence Lettsome...Kenny Rodgers said know when to walk away know when to run. A lot of them don’t have that courage to leave and go out there, they want to stay there until they are totally unable to do what needs to be done. So term limits would be doing the constituents of any district a service...”

Another caller recommended that it should be five terms in office rather than four to which the person who had suggested four called back to express her agreement.

One caller, however, said he doesn’t believe someone should be taken out of office as longs as he is performing well. “If someone there is doing good I don’t think you should change them...and once you are strong, healthy and could move around...if they aren’t doing good you get rid of them,” the caller stated.

Meanwhile, host of the show Douglas Wheatley said he also favoured it for politicians but also said there should be term limits for persons in the bureaucracy.

“If you have someone who is appointed to a position, whether in the public service or in a statutory body, or a commission or committee and they may be doing a good job sometimes the tendency is if they are doing a good job they should be left to perform and sometimes they may be there for up to 10, 15, 25 years. But when we look as a country as a whole we are selling ourselves short because we know only that one person and how that one person performs but we don’t give other persons an opportunity to perform. Perhaps the other person might perform a lot better than the last person but you would never know because they were never given a chance....and we are losing out on the diversity that would be brought in by some other person”.

8 Responses to “Should there be term limits for politicians in VI?”

  • polo (15/02/2012, 09:36) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Hush ayo ra$$ the people will put dem out when we ready..NO TEAM LIMITS PLEASE
    • DarkVader (15/02/2012, 12:21) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      Yes, there should be term limit. Some of those elected official run out of ideas after a while. 3 terms is what I would suggets. Anything more thena that, they feel like they own the people and the district.
  • Pimp (15/02/2012, 09:48) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    YES!!!
  • Disgusted (15/02/2012, 13:23) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    If Public Servants are being sent home when they reach the age of 65 why should the Legislators remain in office until close to 100 years? In my humble opinion 3 terms is long enough for them to groom someone else, pass the baton or go home to relax and offer advice when needed.
    • cvil servant (15/02/2012, 17:14) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      let's start wid dey DG send her home dem almost 65..the politiains are elected we live in a democray if you please!!!
      • end of next month she going (15/02/2012, 23:44) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
        learn to spell "civil servant" ..but I agree with you all the way!!!
  • ONE TERM (16/02/2012, 21:53) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    FOR SURE SOME OF THEM NEW ONES WILL GET ONE TERM!!!!!
  • Kermit (25/02/2012, 09:16) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Increase election cycle to every 8 years. Then those in elected positions must sit out for that next 8 yr cycle. 4 years is too short to make meaningful change. Here's how the system's schedule currently works: Every elected person spends the 12 months BEFORE the election date campagning....doing what they need to do get votes. If elected, they spend the next year attempting to make good on the election platform promises. Add to that the normal challenges brought about by a governmental environment that favors discourse over action and an elected person maybe has 20C out of any 48 month cycle to do the work the people need done. Give em 8 years. Then they sit out. This is the only way I can see to break the cycle our island is trapped in.


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