Perhaps the precedent was set by the 32nd President of the United States.  

It was a grim time for the US and the world when President Roosevelt (FDR) engaged American citizens with his “fireside chats.”  

The Great Depression was raging.  Adolph Hitler was running loose and free in Europe and Americans still needed to be convinced to enter a war that was defining world hegemony.  

And FDR spoke to his people about his ‘New Deal’ policies to improve their lives.  

The world is once again teetering on the brink.  Democracy is in hiding.  The price of oil is volatile.  A war wages between His Holiness and The American President who, it seems, depicted himself as Christ but pulled back.

And uncertainty reigns.

But, in the midst of the crisis, the BVI Premier is seeking to be proactive.  He called out some of his ‘strongest soldiers’ to aid him in a ‘Lunch and Learn’ session about the global fuel crisis.

In that briefing, he enjoyed the powerful presence of his Junior Minister with responsibility for Financial Services and Trade.  

She is anything but Junior.  In fact, she stands amongst the most senior and experienced BVI public servants.  But for a tactical error, she was, recently, grazing BVI fields as his Deputy Premier.

And another powerhouse stood with him.  The Former Financial Secretary and Former Head of International Business for the ‘State,’ now the General Manager of one of the most powerful parastatals in the land; The BVI Electricity Corporation.

The Premier’s mission was difficult.  To assure BVI that he has a ‘new deal’ for them in this crisis.  That subsidies will be given to help with the cost of electricity.  

That he is working on a basket of goods around which the prices will remain static.  And that on imports to the Territory, he will rescind CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) charges and only apply his levy on FOB (Free On Board) charges.

Other ideas circulated but these provide the greatest impact on the cost of living.

We didn’t see Rumpelstiltskin in the lineup.  For in foregoing its revenue, even if only for a quarter, the ‘State’ will need someone to spin straw into gold; 

Otherwise, the stream of red ink that another of his powerful speakers, The Financial Secretary, holds in check, can fast become a raging sea.

But we were comforted by the presence of the Ag. Director of the Ports Authority.

BVI imports just about everything.  And despite the beautiful showing of the recently concluded Agricultural Fair, if the barges stop sailing, we will all starve to death.

Getting out will be as questionable as it was in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and during COVID because we still do not know if Empire will nod on our plans to extend the runway at the T.B. Lettsome International Airport.

We have already answered questions surrounding the requested Business Case but they keep asking, possibly to delay the process.  

We followed their Green Book protocol.  We had initial buy-in and even Baroness Hodge articulated her support for tourism.  (Better air access is a major economic driver.)

We just don’t know what will satisfy Empire or even if Empire can be satisfied.  The proverbial ‘goal post’ is constantly shifting.

And, based on their directive, we can proceed no further on anything without express approval which they continue to refuse to give. 

We are at their mercy for our economic survival and our own national security.  We wish we knew their end game.  For now, it seems they are pocketing approval because they can.

We have thoughts about the autocracy of Empire in that regard but our concerns have never been known to be of any moment.

In terms of fuel prices at the pump, it has always been a curious phenomenon.  As soon as the vendors of fuel hear that oil futures are rising, the price jumps overnight.  

But when crude prices drop, there is so much stock on hand that it may take months to see the prices ease.  We are now paying as much as $6.16 per gallon.

And as oil prices soar, so go merchandise, transportation, cost of living, but hardly ever, wages.  And the cost of living is already in the stratosphere.

So, the Premier’s initiative was welcomed but we have been around these initiatives long enough to wonder why commerce does not extend the savings to consumers.

And it may not be so much that commerce wants to rob consumers but possibly that the cost of doing business in the Territory is so exaggerated that commerce needs every advantage it can get.

And the consumer is left like a sail flapping in the breeze without an advocate in the halls of power but with strong promises and glowing policies on the table.

The ‘State’ has been speaking about consumer protection for decades but those words seem only to add fodder to the climate change debate.

So, while they lunch and learn, we mainly hope on our Fridays.

Happy Friday!