As other parties held concerts and raucous rallies, Progressives United had a quieter week, taking to the streets with one-on-one campaigning and discussing issues on a radio show.
During the Friday evening session on ZBVI, which was also live-streamed on Facebook, candidates hinted at more rallies to come at the end of this week, but no official announcements had been made as of Beacon press time yesterday afternoon.
The show started off with at-large candidate Dirk Walters, who explained his transition from a district representative to an at-large one.
“It’s the will of the people at the end of the day,” Mr. Walters said. “The tremendous amount of love and support I got throughout the territory was phenomenal.”
A main factor in his decision was the response he received from his District Five launch on Feb. 2, he explained.
According to Mr. Walters, the people loved the solutions he put forth and wanted to see these solutions applied through- out the territory.
He and other candidates addressed issues including law enforcement, infrastructure, the economy and traffic.
“How serious are we in terms of border protection?” asked Mr. Walters, who advocated for increasing funding for law enforcement in order to crack down on crime.
Infrastructure
The moderator then turned the spotlight on at-large candidate Rajah Smith, asking him what he thinks about the territory’s infrastructure.
“Fixing a country starts with fixing basic infrastructure,” Mr. Smith replied. “Distribution is a problem. My solution is simple and common sense: pumps and pipes.”
He claimed that the cost of rebuilding and strengthening infrastructure would not be a quarter of the $7.2 million dollars that “went into the clouds,” referencing the government’s failed deal with BVI Airways.
Like Mr. Walters, however, he did not give specifics on how he would fix water and sewerage problems.
Economy
PU leader Julian Fraser, the District Three incumbent, said that settlements from insurance companies pumped money into the economy after Irma, but led to inflation.
“No one is controlling the level of inflation today,” he said. “It’s gonna get worse… Government has to be wise and competent in order to make sure that they don’t drive prices through the roof in the country. People will spend the money… because they don’t have a choice.”
He also spoke about financial services, suggesting that the VI should consider the opportunities associated with the recent European Union requirement that VI companies demonstrate “economic substance.”
“The European Union has given us what could very well be a Godsend with this economic substance that they’re asking,” he said. “But has anyone in the government even begin to address what will happen?”
He stated that there are some 417,000 companies registered in the territory, and with the new requirements they will need centres of operation here. Mr. Fraser urged voters to consider the number of employees and office space needed to support such facilities.
Traffic
Fourth District candidate Dr. Vincent Scatliffe, who said he was late to the meeting due to traffic, spoke about road congestion, a growing population, and unreliable bus service.
“We have a growing motorised public,” he said. “This is congesting the city. We have to come up with some creative means to solve these problems.”
To that end, he proposed creating a network of garages for Road Town workers to park in the periphery of the capital in order to free up space for customers.