Penn Demands Answers on Millions Spent While Parliament Silenced

Opposition Leader Marlon Penn has levelled accusations that the Virgin Islands Party administration has prevented lawmakers from asking questions about substantial spending for more than a year, while millions in taxpayer money flow out without explanation.

Speaking Thursday evening on the Ideas, Issues, The Way Forward podcast, Penn, the Eighth District Representative, demanded clarity on government borrowing, water infrastructure contracts and road construction. "This is not your money. This is the money for taxpayers. We have to pay this money back. Our children have to pay this money back, and you'll spend it recklessly," he said.

Penn returned to the complaint during Thursday's parliamentary session on October 15. Opposition lawmakers have repeatedly objected to the postponements, yet their questions remain pushed back on the Order Paper. The same pattern emerged in May and July.

In July, Premier and Finance Minister Dr. Natalio Wheatley won approval to defer questions in favour of government business, justifying the move by citing urgent legislation to preserve the Recovery and Development Agency's board. Penn rejected that explanation, countering that the government had possessed earlier opportunities to address the matter.

The blocked questions centre on major expenditures: what Penn characterised as the BVI's largest ever loan, plus millions distributed for water work through processes lacking competitive bidding.

Penn identified specific projects as examples. The Hodge's Creek road initiative exceeded its budget by over one million dollars, he stated, yet waterline and drainage issues persisted unresolved. Public Works staff had warned beforehand that the design was incomplete and that deteriorating pipes required repair before work commenced, Penn claimed.

He also cited roadwork along the Sea Cows Bay to West End corridor, where a property operated by the family of the late Billy Winter suffered repeated flooding during rainfall, with no government intervention.

"They have dodged and shirked their responsibility to the people," Penn said.

With a general election constitutionally required within roughly nine months, Penn indicated he would pursue alternative channels to bring public resource management into the open.