Governor John Rankin chaired online Cabinet meetings on July 14 and 21. All members were present except Attorney General Dawn Smith, who was on personal leave, according to a summary provided by the Cabinet Office and Gazetted on July 29.

July 14

On July 14, Cabinet took the following actions, the summary stated.

1. Noted the auditor general’s special report on the government’s stimulus programme for religious organisations, civic groups, daycares and private schools that was launched as a part of the Covid-19 recovery initiative, and decided that the auditor general’s special report, in spite of the concerns over the methodology used in developing the report and concerns over the accuracy of some of the content of the report, be laid, with names of recipients redacted, by the attorney general before the House of Assembly at the next sitting or at its next meeting thereafter.

2. Noted the auditor general’s special report on the government’s stimulus programme for farmers and fishers that was launched as a part of the Covid19 recovery initiative and decided that the report, in spite of the concerns over the methodology used in developing the report and concerns over the accuracy of some of the content of the report, be laid, with names of recipients redacted, by the attorney general before the House of Assembly at the next convenient sitting or at its next meeting thereafter.

3. Reviewed the annual report of the Office of the Deputy Governor for the year ending Dec. 31, 2020 and decided that the report be laid on the table at the next convenient sitting of the House of Assembly.

4. Decided that:

a. the tender process be waived for the government to enter into a contract with IBM (Bahamas) Ltd. to provide management, maintenance, support and enhancement services in relation to the Customs Automated Processing System due to the proprietary software rights;

b. the contract be issued to IBM (Bahamas) Ltd. for five years with effect from Jan. 1, 2022 and ending Dec. 31, 2026 at a rate of $234,300 per annum;

c. the financial secretary instruct the Attorney General’s Chambers to vet the relevant agreement; and

d. the contract be reviewed by the financial secretary within three years and the results of the review be submitted to Cabinet for consideration.

5. Reviewed and accepted the evaluation report submitted by the Central Tenders Board Technical Sub-Committee, which was approved by the CTB on May 19; accepted the recommendation of the CTB that Quality Air Conditioning & Refrigeration be awarded the contract for the HVAC air conditioning system for the Multipurpose Sports Complex; and recommended that full negotiations be held with the recommended contractor, to ensure best value for money.

6. Reviewed and accepted the evaluation report submitted by the Central Tenders Board Technical Sub-Committee, which was approved by the CTB on May 19; accepted the recommendation of the CTB to award Ever Ready Trucking the contract for managing of the Jost Van Dyke Transfer Station and providing hauling services for waste from Jost Van Dyke to the incinerator on Tortola in the amount of $295,500 for 36 months; and decided that the Ministry of Health and Social Development instruct the Attorney General’s Chambers to vet the relevant agreement.

7. Approved:

a. the appointment of Moleto Abram Smith Jr. as chairman of the BVI Health Services Authority board for a period of three years with effect from July 15;

b. the appointment of Dr. Karl Dawson as deputy chairman of the board for a period of three years with effect from Aug. 13;

c. the re-appointment of Kishelle Blaize-Cameron and Andrea Walters as members of the board for a period of three years with effect from July 15; and

d. the appointment of Esther Wheatley, Kisha Frett and Lemuel Smith as members of the board for a period of three years with effect from July 15.

July 21

During the July 21 meeting, Cabinet took the following actions, according to the summary.

1. Reviewed and accepted the evaluation report submitted by the Central Tenders Board technical evaluation sub-committee, which was approved by the CTB on June 1; and accepted the recommendation of the CTB to award the contract for the construction of a new social home at Zion Hill to Building Construction Management Group Ltd. in the amount of $208,385.74.

2. Approved a policy paper on “Bona Vacantia of Dissolved and the form entitled ‘Application for Repayment After Restoration’” and:

a. agreed that the policy paper be published on the government website and be Gazetted;

b. decided that the Ministry of Finance instruct the attorney general to prepare regulations under the BVI Business Companies Act to stipulate that any monies paid out of the Consolidated Fund in order to restore property to a company be:

i. returned interest free; and

ii. subject to an administrative fee of between 0.10 percent and 0.25 percent per annum of the principal amount as further prescribed by an order of the minister.

3. Reviewed and accepted the evaluation report submitted by the Central Tenders Board technical evaluation sub-committee, which was approved by the CTB on June 29; accepted the CTB recommendation to award Quality Construction Ltd. the contract for construction of a new social home at Sea Cows Bay in the amount of $197,286.24; and decided that the Ministry of Health and Social Development instruct the Attorney General’s Chambers to vet the relevant agreement.

4. Reviewed the recommendations of the Board of Immigration in respect of applicants for certificates of belonger status; accepted the recommendations of the board to grant certificates of belonger status to 25 people who, in accordance with section 16 (6) of the Immigration and Passport Act (revised) are the spouses of belongers, and who have been living together with their spouses within the territory for a period not less than five years; accepted the recommendations of the Board of Immigration to grant certificates of belonger status to 36 applicants, who, in the opinion of the board, have met each of the legal requirements of Section 16 (3) of the Immigration and Passport Act (revised); and directed that the Immigration Department communicate Cabinet’s decision to the respective applicants in a timely manner.

This information was provided in a summary Gazetted on July 29.