Hon. Marlon Penn, Representative for the Eighth District, has sharply criticized Premier Dr. the Hon. Natalio Wheatley for spending $1.5 million on entertainment initiatives over the past 18 months.
This amount, which excludes festival-related expenses, is approximately 15 times more than what the government has budgeted for resolving the territory’s ongoing water issues in 2024, according to Penn.
Speaking during a three-hour live event hosted by His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition on Tuesday, October 15, Penn highlighted the severe imbalance in the premier’s spending priorities. He argued that this mismanagement of taxpayer funds is occurring while residents in the premier’s own district, as well as other districts across the territory, have been left without access to clean water for days.
Penn also emphasized the growing concerns about food security in the territory and the lack of support given to local farmers, especially after the devastating impact of Hurricane Ernesto. Penn said that despite farmers’ desperate pleas for assistance to recover, Premier Wheatley has failed to provide meaningful help, choosing instead to spend $220,000 on sponsoring the Vybz Kartel concert.
He underscored that such spending sends the wrong message to the people of the BVI about the government’s priorities, particularly when basic needs like water access and agricultural recovery are not being met.
In his criticism, Penn pointed out what he described as a double standard in the Premier’s approach to distributing government funds. He questioned the process by which $220,000 was approved for YOLO Promotions to sponsor the concert, noting that small and medium-sized businesses face far stricter criteria when applying for government grants.