It’s time for voters to have courage, Bevis Sylvester said at his campaign launch in Parham Town Tuesday evening.

For “the party people,” Mr. Sylvester had a message: “You will never be able to discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

The regional manager of Delta Petroleum said he has “to make challenging decisions” daily, and his work with the fuel provider means he already represents the territory around the Caribbean.

“Fifteen prime ministers I had to fight and lobby against,” he said, adding, “I am young, but I have a lot of experience.”

Employment seemed to be Mr. Sylvester’s main concern for his district, where, he said, tourism needs a boost. For example, he wants to see more tourists visiting Long Bay, Beef Island, he said.

“It’s the most beautiful beach on the island,” he said, adding that more visitors would mean opportunities for vendors on the beach.

“We are going to create jobs for our people in the community through the tourism product,” Mr. Sylvester said.

The candidate also said he wants to create a list of all the unemployed people in the district and help them find jobs, adding that it’s a shame that young people who have completed school seem to have as much difficulty finding jobs as those who dropped out.

Mr. Sylvester said he wants to level the electricity rates paid by individuals and large companies. The BVI Electricity Corporation charges range from 16.75 cents to 24 cents per unit, depending on the amount of electricity used, with customers who use the most energy – over 100,000 units – receiving the lowest rate.

Music

The launch began with a reading of a poem that asked Mr. Sylvester to listen to the needs of residents. The candidate’s speech was interspersed with breaks for songs about unity or his apparent campaign song: “We Pushing Bevis,” to the familiar tune of “We Pushing Bush.”

The launch also featured musical performances by Trinidadian Singing Sandra and Ritical.

A ‘set-up’

Mr. Sylvester said he disagrees with appointments of “retired Englishmen” to high positions in the civil service, arguing that one recent appointee in the Town and Country Planning Department is part of a plot “to stifle our development.”

He also said he doesn’t think there is a need for a deputy police commissioner from the United Kingdom, when “we have qualified people here.” Mr. Sylvester went on to say that he sees “a deputy from England” when he travels to other territories as well. “It’s a set-up,” he said.

The candidate spoke about his hopes for a revamped Palm Grove Shopping Centre in Road Town, which he said is “run down.” He said he was disappointed that none of the three candidates running in the Fourth District mentioned it, since the development has the potential to bring so much revenue to the territory.

Old charges

Mr. Sylvester previously served as the budget coordinator in the Ministry of Finance, and he was a defendant in the so-called “airport case,” after a 2001 investigation by then-Governor Frank Savage found that government funds for a telecommunications contract for the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport were missing.

In 2004, a judge sentenced Mr. Sylvester to six months in prison after he pleaded guilty to obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and neglect of duty, according to media reports at the time.