Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 31, 2025

'Don't make UK Loan Guarantee issue political'- Ray A. George - says Opposition meetings behind Premier's back was not in 'good taste'

'Don't make UK Loan Guarantee issue political'- Ray A. George - says Opposition meetings behind Premier's back was not in 'good taste'

"It didn't seem like I missed much," were the words of former BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) Director, Mr Ray A. George while commenting on a series of Opposition sponsored meetings on the United Kingdom (UK) Loan Guarantee issue facing the territory.

Mr George, who has urged the Opposition Members to not make the issue of the UK Loan Guarantee a political one, was at the time speaking on the Tuesday, September 17, 2019, edition of 'Honestly Speaking' with Claude O. Skelton-Cline where he touched on a number of burning issues relating to the topic and the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA).


Newfound Love for Crown


"One of the reasons I'm here also, [is] so that we don't make this thing a political ordeal. I note very keenly... but I found that the series of meeting were taking place behind the back of the Premier [Hon Andrew A. Fahie] while he was in the UK, I don't know if that was in good taste and hopefully, was a coincidence," he said.

Mr George, on touching what he called a "newfound love", for VI's relationship with the UK," said, "I'm all for a non-adversarial relationship with the Uk... I think there are benefits to be had, and that will come through harmonious relationships and negotiations and I'm all for that 100%."

Within the past week, Opposition Members, including Leader, Hon Marlon A. Penn (R8), Hon Julian Fraser RA (R3), Hon Melvin M. Turnbull (R2) and Hon Alvera Maduro-Caines (R6), have been holding a series of meetings raising a number of concerns surrounding the UK Loan guarantee.

Throughout the meetings, the overarching theme was one where the Opposition was urging the Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) led Virgin Islands Party (VIP) government to take up the loan offer with the aim of preserving good relations with the Crown, even as the administration was seeking better terms and conditions.

UK addresses concerns


According to Mr George, "I found it a bit strange that we are now, talking about that... as far as I'm concerned, when we did not swear in the Governor in the House of Assembly, I did not think that was in good spirit or relations, and also when we actually flew in the face of good governance and transparency, with a number of projects that went down, that wasn't in keeping with good relations as well," he said.

The National Democratic Party (NDP) Government had refused to follow long established tradition to swear in the new Governor, Mr Augustus J. U. Jaspert, in the House of Assembly (HoA) on his arrival to the territory in 2017 after they were reportedly flustered by remarks the previous Governor (John S. Duncan) had made, including about mismanagement of funds and lack of spending priorities.

Governor Jaspert was subsequently made to take the Oath at a quiet and short ceremony at the Virgin Islands Supreme Court building in Road Town on August 22, 2017, where some eight (8) elected members were absent, including now Opposition Leader Hon Marlon A. Penn (R8), Hon Julian Fraser (R3), Hon Alvera Maduro-Caines (R6), and Hon Melvin M. Turnbull (R2), all current Opposition Members.

Meanwhile, Premier Fahie has since returned from his diplomatic trip to the UK, where in a Tuesday, September 17, 2019 meeting held at the House of Assembly (HoA) Conference Room, it was announced that the visit was “a resounding success”.

He said the administration is on its way to signing the Loan Guarantee agreement once the UK puts on paper what it has agreed to address.

“It would be correct to say that we are on our way to signing on to the UK Loan Guarantee and while we are going we making sure that the language is correct so that when we get there we can know if we signing on, but we on our way,” Premier Fahie stated.

Opposition 'throwing punches when we out the ring'


Commenting on the Opposition Meetings, Hon Fahie said several public meetings on the Loan Guarantee were held and the Opposition never raised any questions or asked for any discussions on the issues, "but as soon as we get up on a plane they started, which is their democratic right might I add, holding public meetings.

"And they throwing punches while we are out of the ring. Well I am back in the ring, I am back here, so they could throw the punch now that I am back here because, as we know, we are going to answer based on facts."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×