The ship of state was not designed to move at the lightning speed that is Adaejah Hodge.  

For it meanders with little concern for the opinions of its citizens to whom it grudgingly provides the services needed to support the economy. 

And because it feels itself, all powerful, it names its price regardless of the impact on businesses for it is hardly accountable to its true source of power; The people of these Virgin Islands;

Except once in each 4-year cycle.

Then the courtship begins.  The dance is exciting.  The activities are intoxicating.  We even believe the promises all over again and we follow the music; The music of the ‘Pied Piper of Hamelin.’   

To where?  

We do not know.

And we ask ourselves the question, usually after the votes are counted; Have our lives improved?  Did BVI progress in the last cycle?  Do our children have the future we envisioned for them?

Or did the leadership pull a Comrade Napoleon (Animal Farm) by filling the food bins in the Territory’s granaries with sand and topping them off with grain to convince the people and the world that we are progressing and that the state of the Territory is strong?...

…While the pain of the populace is palpable and the misery index has cleared the roof.

But Adaejah Hodge: What you see is what you get.  A well-trained body and a dedication to her sport that has her on the path to become the fastest woman in the world.

She now holds the record; The number one spot for both the collegiate 100m and 200m.

We sing her praises.  We congratulate her.  Do we support her financially?  For it costs a king’s ransom to compete internationally and our track record (no pun intended) of support to the athletes is hardly stellar.

But BVI is proud that, like cream, Adaejah Hodge continues to rise to the top.  For when you are cream, no one must fall for you to rise which negates the oft quoted crab in the barrel approach to individual upward mobility.

And the ship of state?

It docked for a few moments on Wednesday evening at Long Bay Beach Resort.  It was there that the government, through Deputy Premier Fraser, brought an initiative to the finish line that was initiated in 1997.  

Fortunately, only 29 years elapsed before the Crown, which held the island of Great Thatch on its books, handed it over to the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands.

The purchase from Mr Clifford Collier was initiated after the Executive Council (now Cabinet) denied a Non Belonger Land Holders Licence to private expatriate interests and decided that the island was ripe for conservation and preservation for the perpetual benefit of the people of the BVI.

The purchase price of $3,000,100.00 was paid in cash and the Government declared that Great Thatch would be handed over to the NPTVI.

But it took the ‘State’ 8 general elections with the formation of six governments before Premier Wheatley decided that a promise made must be a promise kept.  

To be fair, the thirteen were briefed during their 2025 Standing Finance Committee Meeting and they were unanimous in their support.

And that is how, on Wednesday evening, Deputy Premier Fraser found himself as the navigator of the ship of state with a lone crew member aboard; Hon. Lorna Smith, in the calm waters outside of Long Bay to offload a precious cargo.

Fraser said in his notable speech that the handover was significant because “It demonstrates that this government remains committed to protecting our natural and cultural assets while investing in a sustainable future for all (the) people.”

Great Thatch is now the 22nd national park held by the NPTVI for the benefit of present and future generations.  The first BVI national park was Sage Mountain gifted by Mr Laurance Rockefeller 62 years ago.

Great Thatch has a rich historical context in many respects.  Local historian, Dr Angel Smith, who recognized its value to the BVI, did an impressive amount of work on his own to unravel its history and significance to the BVI economy.

It was because of his early treatise that Officials of the NPTVI were inspired to lobby the Government to make good on its promise.

Looking back in time, Dr Smith dazzled the gathering with the value of Great Thatch as a homestead and as a commercial enterprise whose owners benefited from slave labour for its viability.

And he shocked none in the room with his statement that at the abolition of slavery in 1834, the proprietors of Great Thatch were compensated by the British Parliament for the loss of their 106 enslaved workers while the slaves left empty handed.

(That was the order of the day in British holdings where that evil monstrosity, slavery and the slave trade was practiced.)

But Dr Smith threatened to wade in deep and dangerous waters by suggesting that BVI paid double for the island; First in uncompensated slave labour and then with a disbursement from its treasury.

But we have been indoctrinated in capitalism and it is not within our gifts to be selective in its application.

But from this new vantage point with Great Thatch in the hands of the NPTVI, the first order of business will be to determine through archaeological digs, its occupation over time by uncovering and examining the remnants of artifacts on the island.

We will raise funds, of course, to recreate what existed for the benefit of the people of these Virgin Islands and our visitors.

We cannot change this history, but we can study it, talk about it and do all within our power to ensure that it is never repeated.

Ultimately, we intend that Great Thatch as a national park will help us all to understand what happened over four hundred years of a sordid history.

And we will, on our Fridays, keep the dialogue open.

Happy Friday!