Father, grant us good servants who will do your will; purify them with clean hearts and give them the strength to do your work.
As we anticipated a change in the previous government, we hoped for better, but yet again we are seeking better. Politicians must know that when they are highly criticised it’s time to make corrections. Not much advancement, interactions or empathy were given to the people in the past four years.
The dollar bill is being held over our heads, taking away the integrity and character of local politicians. Many of you said the people sent you, but can you manage the people? There is sufficient money in the Virgin Islands government to develop the territory and take care of everyone. But the system now is designed to shut out both the public and private sector. The criteria for job placement is now twisted, lied about, added or taken away.
This kind of behaviour is tolerated, but it will increase poverty and disappointment, and it will decrease the population of Virgin Islanders. The abuse of importing unnecessary labour for $6 an hour should be halted by both belongers and expatriates.
Priorities
The two priorities now on the new government’s agenda should be educating our children and making sure our people are gainfully employed. A job agency should be established to meet the people’s strengths wherever they are qualified. This would ease the strain on the politicians and department heads.
The House of Assembly has become a comfort zone for its members. Too many long hours are being spent complaining. Members must learn to take up borderline issues on their own, and not simply repeat promises throughout the four years.
Overrunning septic tanks and areas where wastewater is running in the street should be identified and corrected. As long as the wastewater is not running close to a ghut, property owners should find a way to correct the problem on their own property. Laws should be put in place giving residents and businesses a limited time to comply. Then a fee should be charged. This would have alleviated most of the problems long time ago.
Independence
Meanwhile, the VI is not ready for the talks of independence and self-governance. A changing government must out stand from the rest. You must overcome biased behaviours, ensure a fair distribution of assets to those in need, and stop giving unnecessarily lengthy appointments to board members not in need of money. Until we can see the poor man achieve beyond your achievement, the oppression will continue from your own kind.
Politicians making statements about going to the United Kingdom after elections is not a good start. Execute your work right away and prove you can manage yourself. Many candidates for the 2023 elections brought forth a list of ideas. I would advise the premier to give the ministers especially one major subject to complete at a time. This would lead us much quicker to where we want to go.
Public service
The public sector in general also needs coordination. There is too much outdated running around going nowhere. We hardly hear from our local deputy governor. Proper scheduling and timely response to the public needs to be modernised, especially among elected officials and department heads. Again, there is sufficient money to develop this territory and sustain the people. We don’t need politicians coming to bounce about their bodies and put the territory in a hostile mood. This will only work if such persons have the mental capacity to forget themselves.