A comprehensive plan for the “social protection” of the Virgin Islands for the next 10 years is almost finished after the Social Development Department’s public meeting yesterday evening at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
SDD officials gave an overview of the latest draft of the Social Sector Report and Implementation Plan, which government commissioned last year in an effort to deal with social problems “before they become fully rooted in the fabric of society,” according to the report’s executive summary.
The report also outlines top priorities, including surpassing the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals; increasing resources in VI schools; resolving “the issue of belongers and non-belongers” in the workforce; distribution of resources on sister islands; and managing population size.
The report says that its recommendations “require forceful and urgent action” in three areas: a comprehensive immigration act, a clearly defined land policy, and a “definitive study of the economic and environmental carrying capacity of the BVI.”
See the April 21, 2011 edition for full coverage.