Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Sep 05, 2025

VI made ‘big mistake’ in not accepting UK loan guarantee- Dr Pickering

VI made ‘big mistake’ in not accepting UK loan guarantee- Dr Pickering

Former Deputy Premier Dr Kedrick D. Pickering says it was a big mistake for the Virgin Islands Government to not take up a United Kingdom (UK) £300M loan guarantee offer for hurricane recovery and infrastructure development.

Dr Pickering made the statements while a guest on the Monday, February 6, 2023, edition of the Umoja radio show hosted by Cromwell Smith aka Ed Ju Enka on ZBVI 780AM.

Instead of a loan or a grant, the United Kingdom had only offered a loan guarantee, following the devastation of the VI by Hurricane Irma and Maria in September 2017.

VI should have taken guarantee - Dr Pickering

“One of the big mistakes we made was not taking that loan guarantee from the United Kingdom, because that loan guarantee is money we couldn't spend over 20 years. It would have taken us a few years to spend that money,” he said while admitting that he has said it privately.

While the loan guarantee was initially offered under the then Dr D. Orlando Smith's National Democratic Party (NDP) government, of which Dr Pickering was a part of, and inherited by the then Andrew A. Fahie's Virgin Islands Party (VIP) administration,Mr Fahie was skeptical about taking up the loan over its stipulations.

The former Deputy Premier and At Large Candidate for the 2023 General Election said the VI did not need to borrow amounts that would interfere with the threshold as set out in the Protocols for Effective Financial Management and could have also negotiated some of the terms.

The VI government under Mr Fahie had tried unsuccessfully to get the UK to increase the borrowing threshold to allow the VI to borrow significant amounts without violating the protocols.

According to Dr Pickering, “You get what you negotiate and that's what negotiations are about, real people sitting with real people and having discussions. So I can tell you what I want and you can tell me what you want, and there has to be a middle… negotiations can only be successful if both parties win,” he added.

Dr Pickering posited that had the VI taken up the offer, it would have given the territory the opportunity to take a comprehensive look at its local infrastructure and come up with a strategy to fix it, given the available access to financing would have been there.

“One of the mistakes was that we didn't need 400 million [dollars] in our pocket, we didn't need 400 [million dollars] in our bank account. It was saying to you that we will guarantee you up to this amount, if it becomes necessary. So if we could only spend $50 million a year, we would take that $50 million based on what we negotiate for that $50 million.”
Dr Pickering made the statements while as a guest on the Monday, February 6, 2023, edition of the Umoja radio show hosted by Cromwell Smith aka Ed Ju Enka on ZBVI 780am.


RDA was condition of loan guarantee - Dr Pickering

Dr Pickering added that one of the first conditions for the loan guarantee was the Recovery and Development Agency (RDA), which was an agency that is set up by law. He added that the establishment of that agency created part of the infrastructure that was necessary to be able to get to the negotiating table.

“We don't have the money, and the chances are we won't have the money in the foreseeable future. What are we going to do? Sit back and watch infrastructure get worse and our quality of life continue to degenerate because we don't have the money?”

He said while the VI has no funds, Government can find a mechanism of accessing the money to do the work which will improve our quality of life and in turn, this improves local investment opportunities both locally and regionally.

“The loan guarantee was something that the United Kingdom government was allowing us to have access to, we then were going to be the final arbiters in determining what we are going to use and how we are going to use it,” he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×