Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025

Premier comes under fire over recent non-Belongers hired by gov’t

Premier comes under fire over recent non-Belongers hired by gov’t

Media personality Cindy Rosan this morning pressed Premier Natalio Wheatley to confirm whether the government abided by all local laws in the recent hiring of at least three non-belongers.
The non-belongers are reportedly working with the Government Information Service (GIS) which falls under the Premier’s Office. 

According to Rosan who questioned Premier Wheatley during a press conference on Friday, the two non-belongers were working in the private sector before they were hired by the government. According to local laws, expatriates who end their contracts with local companies must leave the territory for a certain period before they can join another company in the territory. 

However, Rosan said she was certain the persons didn’t leave the territory for the stipulated time before they were hired by the government. She added that she sought these answers from the appropriate government departments but they failed to give her answers.

“Do you find it appropriate as the Premier to break the labour laws to hire persons who prefer to live in the BVI and not return home after it didn’t work out with the local companies they were hired through while qualified Virgin Islanders and Belongers sit at home unemployed?” Rosan pressed the Premier.

Vacancies advertised?

In response, the Premier as well as Chief Information Officer Desiree Smith said the jobs were formally advertised and were not taken up by any Virgin Islanders or Belongers. The Premier also mentioned that it is generally difficult to find locals with expertise and training in media and communications, adding that even private media companies have to seek expatriate workers to fill these posts.

The Premier also said salaries for technical posts are often an issue for many locals and added that the government is working to improve these conditions to entice locals to enter these fields.

Seemingly dissatisfied with the answers given, Rosan referred to the recent Commission of Inquiry and its recommendations for good governance before adding that, “we know that there are qualified Virgin Islanders that can do the job these persons were hired to do…”

In response, the Premier said he is unaware of any local laws that were violated and asked Rosan to show proof of locals who applied but were overlooked for the media roles in government. 

At this point, a non-aggressive back-and-forth ensued between Rosan and the Premier before Rosan was asked to proceed with her questions.

Alleged inappropriate relations

That’s when Rosan asked: “You are accused by members of the public of having inappropriate relations with at least two of the persons listed and that you continue the trend of abuse of power with the office you hold. Can you put these accusations to rest?”

In response, Premier Wheatley said: “Let me just respond. I think it’s a completely inappropriate question. I think people need to stop putting forward reckless rumours as though they have some kind of facts to them. I think it’s reckless and completely inappropriate.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
×