“They believe that the wealth of this nation has come from corruption, from monies that's been corrupted or trafficked in the drug cartel. That's what they believe,” he said on the November 11, 2020, edition of JTV’s The Big Story.

‘Fundamental Misrepresentation’ – Skelton-Cline

“It’s the fundamental misrepresentation of the tenacity, of the hard work, of the genius of the people of this Virgin Islands, our ancestors, our parents and grandparents who owned the land to develop a business model,” he said.

Skelton-Cline’s comment came on the heels of a statement made by Governor Augustus J.U. Jaspert at a Tuesday, November 10, 2020, press conference on the recent historic $250M drug bust, where he said the VI has pockets of corruption facilitating crime.

According to the man of the cloth, “They come in here, see these homes in the hills and ask the question, well who owned these homes? Well, the locals own these homes. How can the local own these homes working at the government or working on their job?” he asked rhetorically.

He said often, VI homeowners use about three different jobs and would own businesses on the side to finance their properties.

“They don't know that that homeowner has land handed down to him or her from their parents, they don't know that it was the genius of elected officials at the fall of Panama and then see financial services come in here that we were able to build a business model,” he further said.

Skelton-Cline’s comment came on the heels of a statement made by Governor Augustus J.U. Jaspert at a Tuesday, November 10, 2020, Press conference on the recent historic $250M drug bust, where he said that VI has pockets of corruption facilitating crime.

Rental properties to finance homeownership – Skelton-Cline

That business model, Skelton-Cline explained, is built on real estate and property rental where homes are built with apartment dwellings to pay for mortgages.

“That has been the financial model, the business model, that we have used on the heels of financial services...that's how we get where we have gotten”

He called on the people of the VI to reject the notion that the territory is corrupt and built on monies from nefarious activities.

“This notion that somehow this is a corrupt island nation and we are corrupt people and what we have gotten has been gathered by ill gain, we must reject that argument, we must reject it at every turn,” he said.