Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Wheatley slams Opposition for criticising SSB's $40M grant for economic stimulus

Wheatley slams Opposition for criticising SSB's $40M grant for economic stimulus

Minister with responsibility for Social Security, Vincent Wheatley has slammed Opposition Leader Marlon Penn for what he described as Penn’s ‘misleading’ and ‘sensational’ statements about the $40 million grant that governement received from the Social Security Board (SSB) for its economic stimulus package.

In a May 30 statement, Penn had said he was concerned that the funds were in the form of a grant and not a loan with favourable terms to be repaid by the government.

Responding to Penn’s statement on Tuesday, Wheatley said: “It is clear, firstly, that the plan presented by your government is indeed a solid plan, and that the Honourable Leader of the Opposition knows this. That is why he tried to claim credit for elements of your government’s plan. But, unable to find any substantial grounds for criticism of your government’s solid plan, the Honourable Leader of the Opposition, just for the sake of heaping scorn on your government’s good work, has opted to go out on a very long, weak limb to question the legality of the issuing of a grant by the SSB.”

Wheatley said Penn is aware of the processes and procedures and “is very aware of the deliberate nature of his campaign of mischief”.


Not unprecedented

The Social Security Minister then argued that it was not unprecedented for local government to receive ‘donations’ towards ‘public projects.’

He further went on to list a few projects funded by private sector organisations and the SSB, such as school repairs and equipment purchase.

“Is the Honourable Leader of the Opposition saying that the SSB was wrong to make this donation to the needy? But, not only that. Has the leader of the four-member tri-party Opposition forgotten that on December 19, 2017, the SSB used its funds to purchase shares in the National Bank of the Virgin Islands, while he was a member of the then government? Until that day, the government of the Virgin Islands was the sole shareholder of the bank. Does the leader of this four-member tri-party Opposition have a short memory? Or has he conveniently shifted his compass? What agenda is he really trying to achieve?” Wheatley questioned.

“Why is the Honourable Leader of the Opposition trying to taint, and block legitimate assistance from reaching the BVI citizenry in their greatest time of need?” he added.

The minister said in this COVID-19 pandemic era, people are in “urgent need of social support, and the economy is in need of assistance”.

He said Penn’s statement was to create alarm and distrust and to create tension in the territory at a time when persons need the support and reassurance of the leaders of the territory to get through these emotionally and financially difficult times.


Money put into good use

Addressing the issue on the Honestly Speaking Radio Programme last night, June 2, Premier Andrew Fahie said the money belongs to taxpayers and it is going towards a worthy cause.

He said if the business community is not given assistance, they will be forced to close shop, which in turn, would affect the bottom line at the SSB and the National Health Insurance scheme because persons would be unemployed and unable to meet those payments.

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?
×