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by pltm
(PLTM) - Over the last two weeks, the dissenting voices against the Cabinet established Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) has been growing louder. While it was clear that the two Opposition Members had some contradicting views, none of the members of Government with opposing views were known. That is until Junior Minister for Tourism, Hon. Archibald Christian and Deputy Speaker and Fifth District Representative, Hon. Delores Christopher openly shared their reservations about the Agency with the media on March 19.
The Agency is an independent body that was created to administer recovery projects, and both Hon. Christian and Hon. Christopher’s comments to the press came minutes after Government Leader, Premier and Minister for Finance, Dr. the Hon. D. Orlando Smith lauded the Agency and took a swipe at naysayers during his budget address.
In praising the establishment of the Agency, Hon. Smith said that the RDA is a mechanism that has been proven globally.
The Premier noted that some are against aspects of the Agency’s mandate.
He said, “There is a lot of unhelpful chatter in circulation about the Agency being a government within a government. This is patently false. Madame Speaker, it is difficult to understand the basis for this noise.”
However, despite the Premier’s explanations, the Junior Minister is not fully sold and in his interview he told reporters, “At this current time I am not totally happy with the way the Agency is proposed in legislation, so we are going through the process to ensure that we come up with something that satisfies us here, and at the same satisfies the UK.”
The Government Backbencher noted that he is for borrowing, but stressed that he has issues with some of the information he has heard about the Agency.
“I am not under any illusion. I understand that we have to borrow money. I understand that the conditions under which we borrow money is a guarantee by the UK Government, but we also need the UK to understand that these are not normal times and that there are certain conditions under which we operate. We need to ensure that the power that is vested through elected members is not eroded by an agency.”
Hon. Christian said that if the Agency concerns cannot be addressed without affecting the guarantee, then perhaps internal lenders should be considered.
“We have to look at other sources of local financing such as the Social Security Board; we have to revisit the MTFP–the Protocols for Effective Financing that we signed many years ago and see if we can come up with something, a proposal that can counter the Agency if the UK does not accept our Bill when we present it to the House for the Agency to be able to function in accordance with the Constitution of the BVI,” he said.
The Backbencher disclosed that Premier Smith is fully aware of the concerns about the Agency, and the issues some members of Government have. He also said that members of the House of Assembly have been discussing these concerns.
“We continue to dialogue with the Premier, who is very receptive to our concerns,” he said.
The Junior Minister told reporters that he is hoping that the concerns would be addressed before the legislation heads to the House of Assembly.
“I am hopeful that we would have been satisfied and I am hopeful that we would have something that we are comfortable with.”
As the quest for changes of the Agency mandate continues, Hon. Christian said that the Members are seeking to have their concerns heard by the United Kingdom Government as well. In fact, he said that he is confident the message would be passed on.
“We have to convey those concerns to the UK—the UK obviously would hear about our concern via either a letter or via the Premier. We have an open society and information flows very freely, so I am sure that they would be brought up to speed as to exactly what concerns Members of the House of Assembly may have as it relates to the Agency. I am still hopeful that we can get to a point and a position in an agreement that makes both sides comfortable,” the Junior Minister noted.
However, at this moment, Hon. Christian said that the main focus is to continue to convey the concerns to the Premier.
“My position is that we want to continue to have our discussions with the Premier, who is the Minister of Finance, and produce a framework through the Agency that makes us comfortable that we want to achieve what we want to achieve without eroding the powers of the Ministers of Government under the Constitution,” he said.
“None of us inside, none of the members are opposed to an Agency that allows for transparency and for good accountability of the funds. The funds that we are trying to borrow and the donations that would be made to the government are funds that we have to account for properly and in a transparent manner," Hon. Christian said.
He added, "So I don’t think there is any hesitation by any member that we need a structure in place that would guarantee that those things take place. What we want to make sure is that the Agency is not operating as if it’s a government unto itself. It should be held accountable to the elected members of the House of Assembly; to me that’s clear and very simple."
During her interview, Hon. Christopher also pointed out that Members of Government have been airing their concerns. However, she said that the issues will be heard at the budget debate.
“Members from time to time have made suggestions and we have to see if those suggestions would be voted on, as opposed to one person the Premier in particular taking a position that this is it. This is what I suggest and this is what it has to be. We believe that we have a free voice to say what we think, how we think it should be and if anything critical…I think the budget debate is going to speak on a lot of that.”
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