Representative for the Sixth District Honourable Myron Walwyn has blasted the Premier Dr. the Honourable Natalio Wheatley for his absence during the annual Standing Finance Committee meetings.
Walwyn heavily criticized the premier who was away on business travel at the recently concluded 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai.
He said the premier’s presence as minister of finance is critical for the Standing Finance Committee process that is a key component to finalizing the territory’s budget.
Of the nine budgets that Walwyn has been involved with, he said this is the first time that he has witnessed something of this nature, with the minister of finance absent from the majority of the proceedings that his vital to the passing of the Appropriation Bill, which Walywn considers as Wheatley’s most important job as the finance minister.
Despite Premier Wheatley’s numerous statements to justify why it was necessary to attend the COP28 conference, Walwyn is adamant that the premier dropped the ball since in his estimation there is nothing that could have been more important than being physically present in the territory to be involved in the Standing Finance Committee meetings.
Walwyn commended the Deputy Premier Honourable Lorna Smith for putting measures in place prior to her travels, to ensure she was present when it was most needed.
Smith was one of the two persons who filled in for Dr. Wheatley as the acting premier during his travel to COP28, and Walwyn did not hold back his thoughts of having temporary figures to oversee such important meetings.
The Sixth District Representative said this latest decision by the premier is one of the many reasons why he and his other Opposition members opted to walk out of the House of Assembly recently.
Prior to Walwyn’s comment on the subject, Premier Wheatley addressed his trip to Dubai and said he believe it is a challenge to get all parties understand the importance of the climate change meetings and why his presence was essential.
The premier had previously explained that his physical attendance of the COP28 meetings was imperative to the groundbreaking agreements made with the United Kingdom to include the BVI and the other Overseas Territories in the upcoming COP sessions.
Premier Wheatley labelled COP28 as the most successful of all prior conferences for the territory.
That prognosis as put by Premier Wheatley is due to the success of the negotiations from the various meetings that were attended by officials representing the BVI.