A pleasant Good Day to all the people of these beautiful Virgin Islands.

Today I have published my Third Quarterly Review of the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (COI).

My Review welcomes the free and fair election that took place on 24 April and the continued commitment to reform made by the Hon. Dr. Natalio D. Wheatley in the opening days of his new Premiership.

Today I assented to the Immigration and Passport (Validation) Act, 2023 and the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Act, 2023. This legislation, which was passed by the House of Assembly on Monday, validates the Residency and Belonger status of individuals following the concerns raised in the recent Audit Report and Addendum on the Fast Track Residency and Belonger Status Programme.

As people in the BVI are aware, the House of Assembly convened yesterday following the findings of the Audit Report and Addendum on the Fast Track Residency and Belongership Programme.

On 13 February I published my second Quarterly Review of progress made under the Framework for Implementation of the Commission of Inquiry Recommendations. This was published here in the BVI and also sent to Lord Goldsmith, the UK Minister for the Overseas Territories. I’ve now received his response to my Quarterly Review and I am publishing it today for everyone to see.

The audit on Assistance Grants has now been tabled and discussed in the House of Assembly, and is now available to the public with appropriate redactions. The audit was conducted in response to Commission of Inquiry Recommendation B12, and covered Assistance Grants issued between January 2019 and May 2022.

In my Quarterly Review two weeks ago I referred to the Audits received from the Auditor General, including the Report on Government Contracts with EZ Shipping concerning the provision of barges and the Report on Government Contracts with Claude Skelton Cline.

The Audit report into Public Assistance Grants made between January 2019 and May 2022 was carried out in accordance with Recommendation B12 of the Commission of Inquiry Report, and was received by myself and the Premier on 30th December. 

Today I am pleased to share with you my second Quarterly Review of the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) Report. This is a key mechanism for monitoring progress. As of the end of December, fifteen of forty-eight recommendations had been completed. In January, we saw further progress, including the receipt of various reviews and audits.

In my first Quarterly Review of Implementation of the Commission of Inquiry Recommendations I noted that there had been good progress in a number of areas, which I continue to welcome.