Although legislators hadn’t returned from their closed-door committee session by 3 p.m. on Monday, early debate showed that government and opposition lawmakers were in support of an amendment to the law that serves as the foundation for the territory’s financial services sector.
Premier Dr. Orlando Smith said that the BVI Business Companies Act, which is scheduled to be expedited through the House in a day, needs to be amended to make sure the territory’s financial services sector keeps pace with the industry worldwide.
Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn said he supports the amendment, and he used his time in the debate to encourage Virgin Islanders to learn more about the industry.
“That is why we implemented the financial services training programme in the schools,” he added.
Opposition Leader Julian Fraser said he agrees that it’s important that the territory’s financial services sector remain a priority, but he also said that he hopes that in the future such amendments can come with more notice so that the House doesn’t have to carry out all three readings at once.
“It’s important to have time for the public to see these amendments,” Mr. Fraser said.
Although the order of the day called for First District Representative Andrew Fahie to ask several questions about the territory’s finances and the cruise pier project before the legislative debates, lawmakers voted to re-arrange the day’s schedule and place questions and answers at the end of the meeting.
See the Jan. 28, 2016 edition for full coverage.
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