It is crucial to review the origins and the impact of the cruising permit fees on the government and people of the Virgin Islands over time. Recently there has been much discussion in the media and government about the territory’s cruising permit. Deputy Customs Commissioner Leslie Lettsome recently mentioned the importance of collecting the fees. Then Premier Dr. Orlando Smith in the House of Assembly proposed to increase the cost of the permit in order to provide additional revenue for the VI, and legislators subsequently followed through.
What then is the mystery behind the origins of this cruising permit, which has become an important revenue cash cow helping to drive the economy of the VI? Why are its origins seemingly shrouded in mystery?
According to information, the cruising permit fees have raised well over $1 million annually for the past five years. This is very significant, and the fee system was derived from an idea put forward by this writer some 40 years ago. This writer is thinking about asking the appropriate authorities for due recognition for such a major contribution.
History
Sometime during the late 1960s to early 1970s, the salaries paid to teachers and civil servants were rather small. However, especially for the benefit of the younger generation, it is important to point out that this did not limit the dedication of teachers and civil servants in the execution of their duties.
This writer as president of the BVI Teachers Union and other members attended several conferences in Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean, Africa and Canada under the auspices of World Confederation of the Organisations of the Teaching Profession and UNESCO. Reports of these conferences showing the basis for salaries of teachers were forwarded to government agencies in the VI. Minor salary increases were given, and those in authority said that it would not be democratic to raise the salaries of teachers only, but this must be done for all other civil servants as well. Hence the BVITU could be regarded as a catalyst for salary increases in those days.
United front
Eventually, the heads of the Civil Service Association, the Nurses Association and the BVITU, which sometimes included this writer, decided that they should present a united front to government in requesting salary increases and other matters. One such request for a salary increase was made some 40 years ago. The Office of the Deputy Governor’s instructions were that in order to secure a salary increase, the service organisations should propose to government additional ways to raise revenue. To that end, the presidents of these organisations and their respective delegations were placed in a room in the Old Administration Building to brainstorm ideas.
In the room, they racked their brains. As typical with this writer, sometimes he closes his eyes in order to get in the inner recesses of his subconscious (causing some to think he is asleep even though his brain is ticking at a rapid pace while his subconscious and the conscious sort out matters). The writer has cultivated this habit from writing generally and composing poems over the years. On this occasion, this writer believed he had a great idea: He proposed that there should be a fee for sailing on the beautiful waters of the VI. This idea was immediately accepted by all those present. Later on, Elihu Rhymer added that this fee could be in the form of a tax.
Shedding light
This writer did not hear anything about this proposal for some time and wondered what had happened to the idea, which was supported by everyone present. However, some two or three years later, this writer came across a cruising permit form and he just stared at it. Due to the highly organised nature of the discussions, it was obvious that this writer’s role in proposing a fee to cruise the waters of the VI was deliberately being withheld and has been withheld to this day. This article intends to make the facts known and shed new light on the cruising permit.
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