Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE is away from the Territory from November 20-22 to attend CARICOM-UN High Level Pledging Conference in New York, USA.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour, Dr. the Honourable Kedrick Pickering will act as Premier and Minister of Finance in the Premier’s absence from the Territory.

Honourable Pickering’s appointment is in accordance with Section 55 (1) of the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 which states, “If the Premier is expected to be absent from the Virgin Islands for more than forty-eight hours, the Governor shall authorise the Deputy Premier to perform the functions of the office of Premier; and the Governor shall revoke this authority on the return to the Virgin Islands of the Premier.”