Skelton-Cline: The System Is Rigged
On his radio programme Honestly Speaking on July 29, 2026, clergyman Claude O. Skelton-Cline blamed weak legislation and successive governments for high costs of living in the BVI, saying large companies have been allowed to 'cannibalise' local markets. He accused multinational-owned retailers and fuel suppliers of creating de facto monopolies that squeeze small businesses and consumers, and called on elected officials to protect citizens.
Skelton-Cline used his July 29, 2026 airing of the radio show Honestly Speaking to deliver a blunt indictment of how the territory’s marketplace operates, declaring: "The whole damn system is rigged." The clergyman and broadcaster told listeners he traces the erosion of consumer protection rights back to the administration of the late Hon.
Orlando Smith’s government, and has continued through successive administrations. While Skelton-Cline has previously singled out Junior Minister for Trade and Economic Development Hon. Smith (AL), OBE, for dismantling the Trade Commission, on Tuesday he placed broader responsibility on past and present elected officials for failing to legislate and enforce protections for consumers and small businesses.
Skelton-Cline argued that large companies such as RiteWay and Sunoco have been allowed to dominate both wholesale and retail markets, creating conditions in which smaller retailers that buy from those wholesalers cannot compete. "They cannibalise…They wipe out the small and middle mom-and-pop shop companies.
They end up closing," he said, accusing those firms of prioritising shareholders over shoppers. He reminded listeners that RiteWay had promised lower prices when it entered the local market — a promise he said remains unfulfilled on store shelves. He also raised concerns about licensing decisions, noting the effect of multinational ownership: "So now we have a situation with this multinational company out of Canada, owning RiteWay monopoly.
Then we have Sunoco, owning Delta, owning Sol, owning Peerless in Puerto Rico, where everybody now gotta buy their fuel, their diesel from this one company, monopoly." Skelton-Cline warned that the system leaves ordinary residents vulnerable, with many waiting anxiously for paydays simply to meet basic obligations.
He questioned the popular sermon-room emphasis on prosperity affirmations when structural barriers make wealth-building unrealistic for many: "How the hell you going to be a millionaire…how you going to do it, when the system is rigged against you?" The broadcast amounted to a call for action: Skelton-Cline urged elected officials to stop remaining silent and to implement measures that protect consumers and support local entrepreneurs.
For BVI residents, his remarks underscore ongoing debates over market concentration, the adequacy of consumer protection law, and what regulatory reforms might be needed to curb monopolistic practices and ease the cost-of-living pressures facing households.
Primary source: VINO