Cabinet Briefs (April 20, 2022)

Governor John Rankin chaired a Cabinet meeting on April 20 at the Financial Services Commission’s Resource Centre. All members were present except Deputy Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley and Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Minister Vincent Wheatley, who were overseas on official travel. Members took the following actions, according to a summary published in the Gazette on April 28.

1. Decided that the Hotel Aid Licence granted to Oil Nut Bay be amended to include the list for the construction of a villa on Jewel Box Beach Lot 10; and decided that the requirement for the villa to remain a part of the Oil Nut Bay rental programme for the duration of the term of the Licence, shall be a condition of amending the licence.

2. Noted the efforts and progress made regarding the ongoing monitoring and evaluation phases and the collection of data from the recipients of the Covid-19 Economic Stimulus Programmes that were implemented by the Premier’s Office.

3. Received and endorsed:

a. the Ministerial Transformation Plan for the Ministry of Finance in line with the Public Service Transformation Programme priorities: i. Customer Service; ii. Improved Performance; iii. Digitisation; iv. Good Governance; v. Change and Collaboration; vi. Security; vii. Innovative Thinking and Doing; viii. Adaptation and Greening;

b. the ministry’s top five initiatives as follows: i. Training on the Public Procurement Act, 2021 for all procurement practitioners and the approval of the Procurement Regulations by the Cabinet; ii. Pension Reform; iii. Payment Gateway and Electronic Funds Transfer to be implemented by the Treasury Department; iv. Amendments to the Virgin Islands Deposit Insurance Act, 2016 to be approved by the Cabinet and the House of Assembly; and v. The implementation of the Border Surveillance System for the Territory; and

c. noted that the funding required for the rollout of various projects/programmes will be considered via the budget cycle and if necessary through a schedule of additional provisions based on the availability of funds.

4. Reviewed and approved the 2020 Public Works Department’s annual report and decided that it be laid on the table at the next convenient sitting of the House of Assembly.

5. Reviewed and accepted the 2019 annual report of the Virgin Islands Fire and Rescue Services and decided that it be laid on the table in the HOA at the next convenient sitting.

6. Reviewed and approved the Public Works Department’s 2019 annual report and decided that it be laid on the table at the next convenient sitting of the HOA.

7. Reviewed and accepted the 2020 Taxi and Livery Commission’s annual report and decided that it be tabled at the next convenient sitting of the HOA.

8. Approved two non-belonger land holding licence applications.