‘Alliance’ would drag financial services down the drain — Premier

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley took a thinly veiled swipe at the recently formed opposition ‘Alliance’ during yesterday’s House of Assembly (HOA) sitting, warning that their attempts to halt the House sitting could jeopardise the BVI’s financial services sector.

The ‘Alliance’, a loosely formed coalition of opposition members including Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull, Stacey Mather, and Myron Walwyn, recently announced its intention to foster greater unity among the tripartite opposition members.

The dispute erupted when Turnbull, the Second District Representative, challenged the legality of the sitting, arguing that the government had violated Standing Order 8(1)(d) by failing to provide at least 10 days’ notice to members before the sitting. He was supported by Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn, who claimed that the breach rendered the sitting invalid.

Walwyn also pointed out that Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton previously brought a vote of no confidence against teh government, and this was halted on the basis of a technicality. “You made the ruling that it had to be done a different way because the procedure was not followed,” Walwyn argued.

Severe consequences to BVI’s financial services industry