Opposition MP Criticizes Cable & Wireless
British Telecommunications giant Cable & Wireless came in for some scathing criticism from a local politician. Dr. the Honourable Kedrick Pickering, Member for the 7th District, commented on the whole issue of telecommunications, during the October 17th sitting of the Legislative Council.
He first referred to the apparent confusion amongst the ranks of the government with regards to negotiations purported to have been held with Cable & Wireless, as per a recent news release in this newspaper. In responding to a question from Opposition Leader Dr. the Hon. Orlando Smith, Chief Minister Hon. Ralph T. O'Neal said he didn't know what government Cable & Wireless had discussions with, but he wasn't a part of it. He further stated that government was not engaged in any significant negotiation regarding telecommunications. However, later on in the proceedings, Minister of Communications and Works Hon. Alvin Christopher confirmed that the Ministry and Cable & Wireless released a joint statement indicating that they were in the "talking stage". Picking up on this, the Opposition Parliamentarian said the statement by Cable & Wireless that it would help the government in the liberalization of the telecommunications sector, is troubling.
He said his research indicates that Cable & Wireless has not had its books audited since its inception in 1966. He said he understands that the company should be paying government about a 3 or 4% commission, but this has never been done. "Mr. Speaker, my research also tells me that Cable & Wireless makes something like 300-400% profit annually in this country on telephone calls alone...(and) that the British Virgin Islands is one of Cable & Wireless' most profitable areas of business anywhere in the Caribbean." The Rep-D7 said this is our country and we should not have to enter into any negotiations with Cable & Wireless. He said the BVI should be able to make suitable decisions for itself. "Mr. Speaker, when I was in Australia, I could call the United States...for 15 cents per minutes...and when you call the British Virgin Islands, it's like $2 and something a minute! Somebody has got to tell us why it is so expensive to call from here to St. Thomas, when we are so close we could stand up on Belmont and shout to somebody over on St. John!"
Touching on Internet access, which he said is advertised as a right and not a privilege, he said users in the BVI pay an "exorbitant amount of money" for this service. He claimed that there are a number of things that government could do without even consulting with Cable & Wireless to help liberalize telecommunications in the BVI. He said the world of telecommunications is too open right now for us to have Cable & Wireless determining what is good for the territory. The Hon. Dr. Pickering said this issue of information technology is too critical at this particular point in the territory's development to be dealt with in such a superficial manner.