MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 1999 - PRESENT
     
     TERRITORIAL REPRESENTTIVE
     
     Ronnie W. Skelton is the sixth child of the late Ellis A. Skelton and Ellen L. Skelton of Road Town , Tortola, British Virgin Islands. He is married to former Janice Mercer and they have two children.
     
     After completing his primary and secondary education at the BVI High School, Ronnie went on to Tuskegee University in Alabama where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering, graduating with High Honours.
     
     After completing one year of graduate school , he returned to the BVI in 1981 and assumed the position of Distribution Engineer at the BVI Electricity Corporation.
     
     Skelton spent seventeen years with the BVI Electricity Corporation, eleven years in the capacity of General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation; a position in which he has made a sterling and long lasting contribution to modern development of the British Virgin Islands.
     
     Skelton has a passion and commitment to serve the British Virgin Islands. He has served and continues to serve the community at various levels including;
     
     involvement in the early development of basketball in the Territory as a player and coach on the national team,
     
     founding Member and First President of the Rotary Club of Road Town,
     
     
     Chairman of a committee appointed by the Chief Minister in 1993 to investigate the economic climate of the BVI and to make recommendations to improve the same.
     
     Chairman of the Land Development Control Authority,
     
     
     Also served as member of a number of various Beautification Committees and other non-profit organizations.
     
     Skelton is a founding member of the National Democratic Party and in May of 1999 he was elected as a Territorial At-Large Representative to the 14th Legislative Council of the Virgin Islands.
     He contested and won re-election in the June 16th,2003 elections and was elevated to serve in his present capacity as Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Health and Welfare.
     
     The late Chief Minister, H. L. Stoutt back in the late 1980's, nurtured Skelton's interest in politics. He firmly believes that a clear vision is critical to the continued development of the Territory in the highly competitive global economy in which the Territory earns it livelihood.
     
     RETROSPECTIVELY SPEAKING
     
     By any measure the British Virgin Islands have made substantial progress in just about all spheres of the Territory's life since the restoration of the Sitting of the Legislative Council of the Virgin Islands some fifty years ago. These achievements are impressive and highly commendable. As a people, collectively we must recognize the leadership displayed by our leaders during what were the critical formative years of the modern era of our beloved British Virgin Islands.
     
     It was by no means an easy task and I personally extend my personal congratulations and sincere appreciation for the perseverance of our leaders over the 50 years. My other colleagues and I are determined to build on the lasting legacy of our leaders over the last 50 years, and to successfully move this Territory in the 21sst century.
     
     In many ways, my generation embodies the territory's successes of the last 50 years. Our successes:
     
     With an education for all policy;
     In building a modern and diversified economy;
     
     In developing the requisite supporting physical infrastructure required in a modern country;
     
     In moving our people to the forefront of management and leadership in the public and private sectors.
     
     In the advancement of medical facilities in the Territory and the establishment of basic safety net structures and mechanisms for our people, such as social security.
     
     In deepening our democracy and attracting a generation of well trained and experienced leaders into service of our country to take the baton and continue the struggle. This engenders continuity. These are indeed significant accomplishments for such a small country and in such short time. As a people we have every right to be justly proud.
     
     
      LOOKING TOWARDS TO THE FUTURE
     
     
     As we look towards the future and the next fifty years in t he life of this Territory, we must do so focused on the many critical challenges and opportunities. As a people we must build on our past successes as we shape our future.
     
     The strategic challenge of the last generation of the Territory's leaders was formidable. Theirs was to build a foundation on which our Territory would take shape. As the Founding Fathers they carefully moulded that foundation.
     
     In my humble opinion, the strategic challenges for my generation of leaders are no less daunting in their complexities. One of our strategic challenges will be the survival and advancement of our people, our culture, and our mental disposition for our beloved British Virgin Islands.
     
     The global environment in which we will exist over the next fifty years will be extremely challenging for a small country like the British Virgin Islands. We are beginning to see manifestations of this new reality including the globalization of trade and the potential for the powerful nations to use their influence to attack small fledging economies and democracies such as ours.
     
     We see this today with The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) harmful tax initiatives. We will continue to see such overreaching from other powerful organizations, which did not exist during the last fifty years such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). The sovereignty and freedoms of small countries will constantly be under external threat, not necessarily from the foreign military powers as in the past but in many cases well-trained armies of bureaucrats.
     
     
     We will have to grapple with the reality of what British Citizenship will mean and evolve to be in the future. We will have to manage our relationships with our regional neighbours and how we welcome their citizens living in the Territory, and the long-term direction and implications of this residency. As a people we will also have to address how we include and involve the wider BVI Family living in other countries in the region and in the United States in particular, as we continue to build our country (our Nation).
     
     As we begin our collective journey as a people into the next fifty years in the life of the British Virgin Islands, I wish to outline a number of guideposts I believe to be very critical as we continue the development of our Territory:
     
     § As a people we must develop a national vision for our country. We must commence a national dialogue about the future direction of our country. This must be an ongoing dialogue and must be comprehensive in scope. The involvement of the Territory's youth in this process must be more than mere lip service. Their involvement must be real and institutionalized.
     
     § As a people we must as the Territory's motto dictates Be ever watchful of our democracy. We must be vigilant about the level of power we concentrate in the hands of government. We must carefully monitor the level of government's intrusion in the lives of our citizens. We must ensure that more forms of ‘direct democracy' are incorporated into our Constitution as part of our system of checks and balances.
     
     § Over the next fifty years as a people we must make significant progress in the institutionalization of mechanisms to address and meet the social service needs of our people. We are currently weak in this area; if allowed to continue this weakness would undermine our very existence as a people.
     
     § As The Territory continues its development, close attention must be paid to our Art, culture and values. We as citizens must become far more concerned about our quality of life. We must not take it for granted.
     
     § The economic empowerment of our people will be critical to the level of success we achieve over the next fifty years. This empowerment will a critical building block for nation building and eventually self-determination.
     
     
     § As we move towards self-determination we must do so fully cognizant of the region inn which we share a common history and abundance of cultural ties. Our long-term success will in many ways be determined by how well we manage our regional relations. We must engage regionally and globally and do so confidently from a position of strength.
     
     These guideposts are not exhaustive, but instead they are thought provoking and serve as a barometer for measuring our future achievements over the next fifty years. After all, if you don't know where you are going any road will get you there. And where there is no vision we know what happens to the people; they perish.
     
     
     
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