We are continuously being told by our leaders that qualified Virgin Islanders and belongers must come first in any employment stakes.
Last week, the premier rants on for three hours about putting the disaster management system under local government instead of the governor, followed by others in similar lengthy vein, while his health minister shows that his government has undercut this policy.
Yes, it has taken Covid-19 to expose the dirty underbelly of our society. According to a warning issued last week by the health minister, it seems that despite all the protocols, quarantines and so on, we are still able to import expatriate labour in the form of female exotic dancers, to ply their trade in our bars and nightclubs — at least legally until 2 a.m. So is this an area where our own “ladies” are not qualified to do the job?
Either way, someone in authority must be behind this trade and must be instructing immigration officers and the Covid-19 health team to allow these people in without thorough checking.
If they are “relatives,” who and where are said relatives? Do they have work permits? Do they get tracking devices? That should be interesting!
Has anyone ever been refused entry and turned back at the airport apart from the unsupervised gentleman who was left to escape recently? Perhaps he is the kingpin to all this.
At least the governor, and maybe his successor, have been allowed back in, although Virgin Islands News Online chose to continue the government/governor fight by suggesting that it might be alleged that the governor refused to do 14 days quarantine. I doubt that is true, and government is to blame for not clarifying what happens to people in various circumstances when they choose to change the rules.
Spoiler alert: In my opinion, I doubt if the governor, whichever one, will rubber stamp the transfer of disaster management authority from his portfolio to the government.