Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Neville Smith popularly referred to as “Sheep” made an appeal to residents of Jost Van Dyke at a recent community Meeting, pleading for respect from residents in a group chats, while calling for unity.
When given the opportunity to speak, along with all other ministers, the Deputy Speaker and At-Large representative briefly asked for residents to respect Government Officials and to come together in these times.
Residents of Jost Van Dyke who are engaged in a group chat with Government Officials, seem to be very vocal in group chats on issues pertaining to the island as well as the territory at large, and the At-Large representative is not happy with their tone.
He said: “We do have a chat group and some concerns were raised, and I put in the chat. Let the people of Jost Van Dyke know I have no problem at all coming over and holding a meeting with the people of Jost Van Dyke. Because, the Government is not private and we are here to answer the concerns, we are here to address the ones we can address immediately. I don’t believe in telling you things you want to hear if I know that it is not possible right away in terms of timeframes.”
“We have to be careful what we put on chats … we have to respect each other, we also have to respect the Government and respect you. So let’s keep it that way. That business where we are taking down each other, every time you talk bad about an individual you are talking bad about yourselves. Try to remember that.” He continued:
“Anyone telling you otherwise either doesn’t have a television, don’t have internet, don’t have a phone or just downright willful. We have put aside all our meetings today, up to a certain time to come over. Today would have been the day when we announce the protocols in a public meeting with the public; we put that to Monday. Contrary to some belief, this is a Government that really listens.”
He added, “The economic challenges have caused us to prioritize and we know that there are high demands in every single district with limited resources. So we are making sure that the areas that are most important that we do.”
Residents of Jost Van Dyke came out in numbers as all nine members of the Fahie Lead Administration came out to speak to residents on issues affecting them. The meeting seemed probed by a number of concerns coming from the Jost Van Dyke Community that were raised in the said group chat, which prompted the entire Government to host the said meeting.