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by pltm
(PLTM) - As they prepare to head to the House of Assembly (HoA) as new Opposition Members, the returning Representatives of the National Democratic Party (NDP) are calling for peace with the new Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government, with Opposition Leader, Hon. Marlon Penn requesting an early meeting with Premier, Hon. Andrew Fahie.
In a recent address, Hon. Penn said he is reaching out the proverbial ‘olive branch’ to Premier Fahie, with the hope that they can work together to tackle some pressing issues.
“We have to ensure that we’re not just an Opposition, but an Opposition that is inclusive, an Opposition that works with the Government to move the country forward. I will not be an Opposition Leader that opposes just for opposing sake,” he stated.
In the presence of his fellow NDP Opposition members, he added, “We have to work together that we get the best possible outcome for our country, and that’s my focus.”
Some of the issues that he wishes to address with the Premier are Brexit and the new Economic Substance laws.
According to Opposition Leader, Hon. Penn, “We need to have a clear, cohesive plan as a country…It could only happen if the Government and Opposition work together.”
“So, I am reaching out the olive branch to the Premier to ensure that we get together very early on these critical issues so that we could work together to develop a strategy for dealing with the issue of Brexit and Economic Substance,” he declared.
These sentiments were shared by returning District Four Representative, Hon. Mark Vanterpool, who said, “I strongly support now our new Government and want to give them our encouragement to do their very best and we will do all that we can, both in a public and private capacity, as the Chairman said, to see that the Government is successful because the country then will be successful.”
He further stated, “We want to ensure that we look to create more unity. I want to encourage us to work together closely and look back at the things we could do differently, the things that we could have looked at better from a transparency point of view and so on.”
However, District Six Representative, Hon. Alvera Maduro-Caines says she will be keeping a watchful eye on the Government.
As she congratulated the new Government, she reminded of their declaration on the campaign trail that they were a party of inclusion.
“I will now be looking to see if they are a Government of inclusion. In Opposition, we will make noise when we have to make noise and we will work with them in order to move this country forward,” she vowed.
