Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 03, 2024

Be respectful! Premier scolds Mitch over ‘Head Coach’ comments

Be respectful! Premier scolds Mitch over ‘Head Coach’ comments

While addressing political jabs made towards the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) for which he is chairman, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley did not explicitly deny that his predecessor, former Premier Andrew Fahie, was consulted over the selection of Marieta Flax-Headley as the party’s Second District candidate.
However, he roundly rebuked her opponent — incumbent District Representative and Labour Minister Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull — over ‘disrespectful’ remarks the premier said Turnbull made about the matter recently.

Speaking at a Second District rally for Flax-Headley last evening, the VIP Chairman disputed that he was going down in the proverbial mud. However, he stressed the need for leaders to hold others accountable, even when it is uncomfortable. Dr Wheatley further credited his former teacher, Flax-Headley, with teaching him this important lesson.

Dr Wheatley, while highlighting his friendship with Turnbull, said he likes Turnbull as a person and would not let politics come between their friendship. However, he described Turnbull’s recent behaviour as creating a false narrative and lacking in respect.

“That is something I believe that [Turnbull] still has to learn; that it is important for us to be respectful,” the premier said. “And I have seen him disrespect the leader of his own party, in a way, in my view, that made me hang my head. We have to be respectful at all times.”

“Now, this is why I was extremely surprised, shocked, and appalled that he would create this false narrative,” the premier added. “That ‘who’ he’s calling the ‘head coach’ — which in my view is unnecessary. It’s unnecessary regardless of what has taken place; still be respectful.”

Fahie was nabbed last year after a months-long United States (US) Drug Enforcement Administration-led sting operation. The resulting indictment described Fahie as using the alias ‘Head Coach’ to disguise interactions with his alleged co-conspirators — former BVI Ports Authority Director, Oleanvine Maynard, and her son Kadeem ‘Blacka’ Maynard – as they allegedly made plans to secretly shepherd illegal drugs through the territory’s ports and pocket the proceeds.

Insulting to grown folks

Dr Wheatley slammed Turnbull’s suggestion that the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is still being controlled by Fahie, arguing that it was insulting to the intelligence of their supporters. “You going to talk to grown people,” he said, “grown people who have their own mind, who have their own principles, who have their own beliefs, who are independent in their thinking, and suggest that they are being controlled by someone else?”

He also accused Turnbull of using the former Premier’s misfortune against him. “Regardless of somebody else’s misfortune,” Dr Wheatley stated, “let us not use somebody’s misfortune as some type of platform to prop ourselves up. It is not nice and you don’t have to, for persons to support you, pull down anybody else.“

The premier argued that if Turnbull had represented his people well during his term in office and had done what he was supposed to do, this would be completely unnecessary since his constituents would have his back.

“You don’t have to pull down a soul. You don’t have to talk anything about a head coach,” Dr Wheatley stated. “You don’t have to try to connect Marieta Flax-Headley, a distinguished woman, a woman of class, a woman of integrity and suggest that she cannot make up her own mind.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
EU Urges UK PM Keir Starmer to Consider Youth Mobility Scheme
British Forces Help Thwart Iranian Missile Attack on Israel
Simon Case Rejoins Garrick Club Amid Mixed Reactions
Investigation into Labour Donor Waheed Alli's Register of Interests
Iceman Drug Boss Jailed: Major Crackdown on £76M Trafficking Operation
UK Evacuates Citizens from Lebanon Amid Growing Tensions
Rise in Vaping Among Non-Smokers in England
Earth Faces Severe Geomagnetic Storm from Solar Flare
Keir Starmer’s Corruption Exposed: Bribes (Yet Again), Broken Promises, and a Rigged System Shielding the Powerful
Bank of America Outage Leaves Customers Unable to Access Accounts, Sparks Concern
Iranian Mullah Claims Israel Used Genies to Hunt Hezbollah Leader
Privacy Concerns Over AI Monitoring of UK Bank Accounts
Robert Jenrick Reveals Daughter's Middle Name as Thatcher
Badenoch Criticizes Civil Servants, Jokes They Are 'Prison-Worthy'
UK Treasury Plans Major Infrastructure Cuts
Kemi Badenoch Criticizes Civil Servants at Conservative Party Conference
Thames Mudlarking Permits Resumed with New Restrictions
Decline in Education for Youth Offenders in England
Jimmy Carter Celebrates 100th Birthday
Iran's Missile Attack on Israel: Defeated but a Significant Escalation
Iran President Lauds Missile Attack on Israel as Decisive Response
Russia Criticizes Biden's Middle East Policies After Iran Attacks Israel
US Dockworkers Strike Halts Half of Nation’s Ocean Shipping
Boris Johnson claims in memoir Queen Elizabeth II had bone cancer
Missile Attack on Israel: A Turning Point for the Ayatollah’s Regime?
Teachers in England Approve 5.5% Pay Rise
Robert Jenrick Criticized for Statements on UK Special Forces
Robert Jenrick Faces Transparency Issues Over Campaign Donations
Phillip Schofield Addresses Firing from ITV
UK Charters Evacuation Flight for Britons in Lebanon
UK Shop Prices Fall at Fastest Rate Since 2021
Keir Starmer Urged to Address Rising Energy Bills
Tom Tugendhat Warns Against Tories Turning into Reform UK
UK to Close Last Coal Power Station After 142 Years
End of Traditional Steelmaking as Tata Closes Port Talbot Blast Furnace
Gaza Hostage Families Urge UK Government to Act
UK Braces for Continued Flooding Amidst New Rain Warnings
Post Office Scandal: Capture IT System Likely Caused Shortfalls
Prince Harry Honors Young Heroes at WellChild Awards in London
BBC Apologises to Amanda Abbington Over Strictly Bullying
UK Government Charters Flight for British Evacuation from Lebanon
Chinese Woman With Two Uteruses Successfully Delivers Twins
Putin Vows to Achieve Goals in Ukraine Amid Ongoing Conflict
Impact and Future Actions Following the Assassination of Hezbollah's Leader
Austrian Election: Far-Right Freedom Party's Historic Victory
Microsoft to Relaunch AI Screenshot Tool Amid Privacy Concerns
India Faces High Concert Ticket Prices: Coldplay and Diljit Dosanjh in Focus
Robert Bourgi Unveils Secrets of French-African Financial Ties
Hollywood Faces Crisis After Strikes and Streaming Wars
Missed Red Flags: Qatar's Controversial Acquisition of Harrods
×