The government plans to present legislation soon to create an “investment and development agency” to manage recovery efforts, Premier Dr. Orlando Smith announced Monday in the House of Assembly.
“Given the magnitude of what we are facing, I think we all can agree that it requires the right structure in order to be able to deliver it,” Dr. Smith said.
The legal framework for the recovery will be approved by the HOA, as will the policy, priorities and action plans agreed by Cabinet, according to the premier.
The agency’s actions will be monitored by Cabinet, and board members will be brought in from the public and private sectors, he added.
“I recognise that we must be excellent stewards of any financial resources that we are able to marshal,” Dr. Smith said. “The agency will therefore access a ring fenced multi donor investment fund, which will be held in custody for the BVI recovery effort.”
In order to “promote good governance,” the agency will be subject to external and internal audit, he added.
The premier also listed the government’s “recovery and development priorities” as infrastructure and utilities; human and social services; business and the economy; governance; natural resources and climate change; and pride and social identity.
“Our teams have worked for the past several weeks to develop detailed plans for each of these priority areas,” he said. “In the near term, beginning in the coming days and weeks we will be discussing those proposals in order to develop a national consensus on how we will rebuild our territory.”
The premier also said he has meetings scheduled with the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank, as well as plans to attend a United Nations donor conference on Nov. 21 and the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council at the end of the month.
He promised to provide more details about recovery plans in “the coming days and weeks,” but reminded residents what has already been done since the hurricane.
“Our businesses are opening their doors, our company registry systems are functional, our supermarkets shelves are stocked, our fuel stations are pumping gas, our marinas are preparing to have boats in the water, our airport and seaports are functional, our electricity is being restored, and other critical structures are functioning,” he said.
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