The Government of the Virgin Islands is seeking the services of a suitable locally based insurance company to provide insurance for the House of Assembly. 

Mister Speaker, I’ve been made aware of an island-wide water interruption on the island of Anegada.  Mister Speaker this is due to a transformer that is no longer working.  I can assure you that the teams of the Water and Sewerage Department, they are working alongside with the BVI Electricity Corporation to rectify this matter, in the most expeditious manner possible.

You would recall that shortly after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic in March 2020, we in the BVI were presented with a grim projection – based on the scientific data - that unless decisive preventative steps were taken, the Territory was looking at getting 3,700 coronavirus cases in our small population.

Mister Speaker, I wish to speak about the decision by this Government to start the process of reviewing the salaries of public officers.

People of the Virgin Islands, I am making this statement in my capacity as Speaker of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands and Head of the Legislative branch in reference to the continued delay and refusal of the Office of the Governor and the Secretary of State, the Right Honourable Dominic Raab’s refusal to assent to the following bills, which were duly passed in the House of Assembly:

1. Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) (Amendment) Act; and
2. Disaster Management Act, 2021

Mr. Speaker, I rise to second this motion. Mr. Speaker, it is a very important one that the Attorney General has brought forward. This Government in its wisdom has brought to the table, as one of the actions that we as a Government would like to move forward with, in the spirit of cooperation and transparency.

On January 19, 2021 the former Governor, His Excellency Augustus J. U. Jaspert, appointed Sir Gary Hickinbottom, to hold a Commission of Inquiry (COI), to inquire into whether corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty in relation to officials, whether statutory, elected or public, “… may have taken place in recent years.”

The deadline has been extended to March 3, 2021, for applications to the post of Registrar of Interests.

Good Afternoon, my name is Julian Willock, the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Mister Speaker, it has been some time since my last update on the Housing Recovery Assistance Programme.