While discussions surrounding the territory’s uncertain political future continue, Minister for Health and Social Development Honourable Marlon Penn says he for one, has no interest in entertaining the rhetoric on his place in the matter.
During a guest appearance on Tola Radio, Penn was urged to break his silence on recent statements made by talk show host Claude Skelton Cline.
In an edition of “Honestly Speaking”, Cline said that despite being a good representative, he did not believe Penn was quite ready to serve as Premier of the BVI and that Penn had areas that needed to be strengthened before such could be considered.
Cline expressed several views on the territory’s political landscape, stating that he believed that the BVI had already made up its mind about the leadership coming out of the National Democratic Party of which Penn is the leader.
Seemingly taking a direct jab at Cline, Penn offered this response:
“I’m wary of these persons who come and say they are speaking on behalf of the public. All you have to do is check their own personal track record and you will see who they are speaking on behalf of.”
Penn went on to say that he need not defend himself from the opinions of others, as his reputation spoke volumes on its own. He also shared a brief glimpse into his vision of how the territory should be led.
“At the end of the day, my reputation is going to speak for itself. Wherever I’ve been, I’ve left where I was better than it was. I’m a man that is focused on the empowerment of people, empowerment of my territory… To move this country forward I think the reality is that we have to focus on people. We need a people-centric approach to leading this country”, he said.
Ultimately, however, Penn said that each person has the right to express their own democratic views.
“We are in a level of democracy and persons have a right to express their democratic view and I’ll never try to infringe on anyone’s democratic view, on their perspective in terms of what they bring forward”, he said.