TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, Aug. 24, CMC – The United Kingdom is being called on to provide more support to this British Overseas territory, particularly with funding for border security.
The call was made recently by Deputy Premier Lorna Smith, who acknowledged a recent supplementary budget allocation aimed at addressing some of the territory’s urgent needs but emphasized that more support is necessary.
Smith highlighted the difficulties in securing the BVI’s borders, describing them as “very porous” and overwhelmed by illegal immigrants.
“What I think we should be asking for and we should be insisting on is more support for our borders,” Smith stated. “We have a very porous border. It’s impossible for us to keep out the large number of aliens.”
The Deputy Premier pointed out that the BVI’s high per capita income would disqualify the territory from receiving UK aid for building a detention centre and criticised legislator Myron Walwyn, who recently said funds are needed for a detention centre.
“He knows it is not going to be forthcoming. Our per capita income for many years has been such that the British are not going to give us US$2.5 million to build a detention centre,” Smith said.
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