Premier engages in Talks with Local Clergy

~~Adz:Left~~Roadtown, Tortola- Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE, his cabinet ministers and members of the House of Assembly met today members of the local clergy to assess the crime situation in the Territory and the impact of global economic downturn.

Spearheading the close to three hour talks, the Premier acknowledged that “it is God who rules the Territory and we as leaders must depend on him to give us that guidance, that wisdom and strength in order to properly carry out the mission that he has called on us to do.”

According to the Premier, today’s talks formed part of a custom started years ago where “once a year we will gather together with the spiritual leaders of the Territory to have fellowship together, to have prayers together and pray for the Territory and all the people and to exchange ideas on how to deal with the many problems.”

Noting the dramatic increase in the number of youth offenders appearing in court in the Territory, Hon. O’Neal appealed to those present to pray fervently for the people of the Territory because “something has gone radically wrong” in the society.

He highlighted some of the contributing factors including the growing number of single parent homes, the lack of support from fathers, the increasing influence of television depicting glamour and violence, a general lack of caring and the fact that the society is no longer close knit.

The Premier called for balance to be restored in society given the general lack of caring that has become prevalent today. “Development as you all know comes with a cost and if that cost outweighs the balance in the society, then we are in difficulty,” the Premier observed.

Today’s meeting was warmly welcomed by the members of the clergy  present, including those from the sister islands of Virgin Gorda and Anegada and they seized the opportunity to highlight the problems and propose valuable interventions. Among the recommendations are the development of a national strategy specifically targeted at youth offenders, the provision of individual counselling to young people, and placing greater emphasis on male students who are not academically inclined. It was also observed that parents in the Territory need to be parented to assist them in providing better guidance to their children.

Education Minister Honourable Andrew Fahie noted that the problems cannot be fixed overnight and called for a sustained effort to ensure that the future generations of the Territory are safe-guarded.

Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office, Mrs. Rosalie Adams chaired the meeting and thanked the members of the clergy for agreeing to have discussions with Government and “help find solutions to some of the problems that are confronting us.”

Deputy Premier Honourable Dancia Penn, QC updated members of the clergy on the current social sector analysis examining the Territory’s approach to the delivery of social services. Hon. Penn noted that the “church as an institution has a role to play” and she encouraged members of the clergy to continuously pray for more understanding among the people of the Territory.

The consensus seemed to be that cooperation is needed and several of those present pledged their willingness to participate in efforts aimed at finding workable solutions. The recommendations coming out of today’s meeting are to be reviewed by Government for future action.