Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley is absolutely right in seeking to raise yachting fees and otherwise reform the 33-year-old rules governing the territory’s marine industry.
But stakeholder protests here and abroad suggest that he needs to recalibrate the approach outlined in three bills recently introduced in the House of Assembly.
So far, the loudest outcry has come from the United States Virgin Islands, where Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has escalated stakeholders’ complaints by threatening to raise transit fees and impose steep tariffs on VI goods.
Mr. Wheatley called those tactics “Trump-like” and suggested that it is “insulting” for the USVI to resist this territory’s first fee increase since 1992.
The premier has a point.
In the USVI, the industry has made much of the dramatic percentage increase proposed for the annual licensing fees for foreign-based boats that ply these waters commercially. But given that the current fees are negligible — mostly ranging from $200 to $800 — the proposed increases to the $12,000-to-$24,000 range are not as outlandish as these percentages suggest.
Still, we are glad Mr. Bryan plans to visit tomorrow to discuss the matter with the premier, and we hope they will work together to lower the temperature and find an equitable solution.
For Mr. Wheatley’s part, this means sticking to the plan to raise fees substantially while also remembering that USVI-based boats contribute to this territory’s economy, most notably through their guests’ spending at VI bars, restaurants, grocers and other establishments.
He must therefore listen carefully to USVI stakeholders and VI businesses alike and consider measures to address their concerns: adjusting the proposed fees, for instance, or agreeing to phase them in over a period of years.
Businesses, after all, crave certainty in order to adjust their operations and prices accordingly.
Mr. Bryan, meanwhile, should tone down his melodramatic threats and come to the table with a reasonable attitude.
Perhaps more troubling than the USVI rhetoric are the extensive concerns raised by marine stakeholders here at home.
After reviewing the three proposed laws, the Marine Association of the BVI — a non-profit organisation that claims 60-plus members employing more than 2,500 people in the territory — sent a strongly worded letter to HOA members.
Its overall assessment was troubling indeed: “The majority of industry stakeholders consulted thus far believe that these legislative amendments are generally counteractive to the good of the BVI, its economy and its marine industry.”
In the 10-page letter, the association agreed that reforms are needed, but it criticised many of the provisions in two of the proposed laws and alleged that the government did not sufficiently consult the industry before moving forward.
Mr. Wheatley countered last week by claiming that government in fact held extensive consultations before drafting the bills.
But the letter and the USVI protests suggest that he and his government have much more work to do — as does the Attorney General Chambers, which is responsible for legislation presented to the HOA.
Now that the proposed bills are in the public domain, we suggest another round of community consultations here and abroad.
Then lawmakers can use the input received to help reshape the proposals into the comprehensive reform that is so urgently needed to modernise the territory’s marine industry.
To be fair to the premier and his government, reforming a decades-old legislative framework is no easy task. But they must roll up their sleeves and do the work needed to get it right.