Wow! What a great in-depth report on the Neighbourhood Partnership Project contract in last week’s edition of the Beacon. Kudos to reporter Steven Melendez.

What does the article tell us?

• Petty contracts are now up to $98,400, at least. I thought they were limited to $60,000? Has the law been changed?

• The pastor coordinating the programme got two of those $98,400 payments, even though the contract was cut short.

• On top of those payments further funds came from government for operations.

• Some of the mainline churches (Episcopal and Catholic, for example) seem not to have partaken in the project. I wonder if they were asked? Or if they declined? (No pun intended!)

• The previous education minister, Andrew Fahie, is extremely vague about the details of the spending of more than $570,000 of our money!

• NPP coordinator Claude Skelton-Cline is reluctant to engage in discussions on the contract.

VIP gov’t

So it seems that Mr. Skelton-Cline came back to the VI, tried to cozy up to the Virgin Islands Party government, and changed his name (What was wrong with it before? Did he change fathers, or mothers?).

The idea for the programme seems to have come from a buddy in the United States, who apparently provided some assistance (it is unclear how much) and of course received compensation. Perhaps the money was spent on the listed airfare?

Thank goodness the VIP government stopped the project halfway through its second year, after complaints by members of the House of Assembly.

This, even after the previous premier had heaped praises on the consultant. At least some money was saved, though the cancellation may have been to the detriment of some of the students the programme was meant to help. And there apparently has been no quantitative analysis of the project’s success.

NDP campaign, contract

So then, apparently in a fit of pique, the pastor decides to cozy up to the National Democratic Party and try his hand there instead! Although I would have liked to see his District Two opponent defeated, there is no way I would have preferred Mr. Skelton-Cline in the HOA.

Now the NDP apparently has thanked him for his support by giving him a contract, whose cost has not been disclosed publicly, to consult on the ports! What does he know about ports? Will he be asking government for funds to pay consultants to actually do the work?

We don’t need another consultancy on ports! Just read Beacon contributor William Walker’s analysis of the West End ferry project and the Beef Island airport expansion proposal. And it’s pretty obvious what is wrong with the Virgin Gorda and Anegada docking arrangements.

Meanwhile, government has announced that it is looking into the sadly neglected topic of our handicapped and underprivileged. Perhaps the good pastor would be better employed in that area, since he has an interest? But not at his going rate!

Give a taxi driver a forum and he will rant for a week! What a moaning, disorganised group they are, judging by the recent forum. And why did ZBVI Radio give them so much airtime on the news? Apart from the fact that what they had to say was unintelligible, most of them are old enough to be retired, and should be! Why are there so many taxi licences issued that are not being used? They should be cancelled.

Most of the drivers’ beefs were between each other, or with the tourist agents. Others want free handouts from government through the BVI Tourist Board.

But we all know if you get to know a taxi driver, you will probably get good service, but if you are a stranger or a tourist you are going to get ripped off mightily.

When you engage a taxi it should not stop to pick up friends or other fare-paying passengers. You have engaged it, and you are paying for your trip exclusively. We do not yet seem to have much of a bus service, though I wrote the following last April:

“We apparently have a bus service running (good), which I don’t remember reading about before, and only now because the operator complains that taxis are running ahead of the buses and charging the same low rate. They learned something from the United States Virgin Islands then!”

What do the taxi drivers have to say about that? (Some boating friends have told me that they actually use the bus service to come into town, which is great while it lasts.)

Trying to do away with plastic bags is a fine goal. But most supermarket staff members double bag without even asking. If you take your own bags to Riteway, you are required to check them into a storage cupboard before you go in! So how are you supposed to use your own bags at the checkout? Believe it or not, they bag your stuff for the short trip outside!

We all have to take our garbage to the dumpsters in something. So most of us use plastic bags for garbage and will have to buy bags off the shelf for that purpose, which defeats the object somewhat.

What is the answer? Back to paper bags? They’re no good when wet. Maybe household collection direct from wheelie bins? Or, if your plastic bags survive the first trip, reuse them for the next trip to the store.

MCW minister

I see our new minister of communications and works, Mark Vanterpool, has reverted back to his favourite word: “hopefully”! This time he was referring to the start of the sewerage project in Road Town. Whenever I hear that word I just know things are not going to happen any time soon! It must be in the VI dictionary of excuses!

So the financial secretary has been explaining to civil servants that the government has been going broke since 2008, and now they are going to feel the pinch.

Tell me, someone, hasn’t he been aware of this pending financial crisis all that time? Did he not tell the government ministers his concerns? Did they listen to him? It would seem not. So shouldn’t he have resigned to protect his integrity? Were previous ministers criminally responsible in continuing to issue contracts that they could not pay for?

You have all seen those advertisements in the press where the bank has foreclosed on a property, presumably for unpaid mortgage payments, and is selling it at auction.

I’ve mentioned before that it is almost impossible to view or get any information on the property before auction, so you would be buying it blind.

Worse, we now hear of a property where the delinquent owner/mortgagee is still in residence! So, not only can you not see the property before buying, but if you are successful it will be up to you to take legal action (or otherwise) to get the sitter out. Thus, having bought it blind you still cannot see what you bought until you spend more money gaining vacant possession! What sort of system is this?

Driver’s licence rules

Finally, I wish the new MCW minister would take in hand whoever is in charge of policy and regulations at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The latest daft ruling, among several others previously mentioned, means that if you are a house owner who has been coming here for several months each year for more than 20 years, you can no longer get a driver’s licence! The reason? You are a “visitor,” not a resident, and so with no residence or work permit you are suddenly not entitled to renew your driver’s licence! Madness! What does having a driver’s licence have to do with residence or work permits?

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