House of Assembly members voted this week to make changes to their Register of Interests, but the extent of those changes is not clear because a bill they passed Tuesday …
Continue reading “HOA votes to change Register of Interests”
House of Assembly members voted this week to make changes to their Register of Interests, but the extent of those changes is not clear because a bill they passed Tuesday …
Continue reading “HOA votes to change Register of Interests”
Government has allocated $670,000 for the Virgin Islands Music Festival in May but hopes to earn it all back through ticket sales, sponsorships and other revenue streams, Premier Dr. Natalio …
When lawmakers voted in July 2022 to make the Register of Interests public as advised by the Commission of Inquiry, they also added several viewing restrictions that drew strong criticism …
Continue reading “Bill keeps restrictions on interests register”
The Virgin Islands was recently approved to receive a visiting mission from the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation, according to Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley. “The purpose of such …
Continue reading “United Nations decolonisation committee to visit”
The Public Works Department spent $180,743 on roadwork alongside the Queen Elizabeth II Park before workers discovered shallow utility lines and a high water table that have stalled the project, …
As part of efforts to help government collect information as the census continues, lawmakers have passed a bill designed to impose harsher penalties on people who withhold statistics they are …
Continue reading “HOA votes to up penalties for withholding stats”
The property tax and buildings bills were among legislation passed in House of Assembly this week. The Property Tax (Amendment) Bill 2023, which passed with amendments on March 5, is …
Continue reading “Property tax, buildings bills passed in HOA”
For more than 15 years, successive governments have been promising to establish the Human Rights Commission provided for in the 2007 Constitution. But the initiative has been delayed again and …
Continue reading “Long-delayed rights watchdog in the works”
Former premier Andrew Fahie is currently imprisoned in Miami while lawyers wrangle over his fate after a jury found him guilty of a drug-trafficking conspiracy on Feb. 8. But he …
Continue reading “Fahie, others not saying if they’ll take ‘Greedy Bill’ payout”
Over the past five years, the government spent nearly $3.5 million on foreign travel expenses including accommodation, transportation, subsistence and warm clothing allowances, according to Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley. …
A new law slated to pass this year will help protect children from sexual predators by implementing measures including a sex-offender register, according to Health and Social Development Minister Vincent …
Following harsh criticism from United Kingdom officials over delayed Commission of Inquiry reforms, the House of Assembly has renewed a committee tasked with overseeing legislative initiatives recommended by the COI. …
Continue reading “House of Assembly re-forms Commission of Inquiry committee”
Adding two at-large seats to the House of Assembly. Amending the Constitution to grant the public an explicit right to access government information. Holding a referendum on whether to adopt …
The House of Assembly recently appointed all six opposition members to the Public Accounts Committee — in their absence. Originally, the House had been slated to approve the same appointments …
Cowardice. That is the label given to the actions of Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley by the opposition following last week’s House of Assembly meeting. In a press conference last …
Continue reading “Opposition defends House of Assembly walkout”
Government legislators reversed course this week on their previous plan to establish a Trade Commission as a statutory body in place of the existing Trade Department. The commission, which was …
In March 2022, Cabinet decided to award a $1.9 million contract to a New York-based firm to create the national tourism plan that successive governments had been promising for more …
Continue reading “Long-delayed tourism plan stalled for now”
Rotting boats clogging harbours are one of the most common visual reminders of the 2017 hurricanes, and a new effort to get them removed is now under way, Premier Dr. …
The hurricane-damaged Burt Point wastewater treatment plant is still out of commission, but Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer said last week that it should be coming online next month. …
Ever since government purchased the Prospect Reef Resort in 2005 with plans to convert it into a hospitality-training centre, the property has been mired in controversy and false starts as …
Good governance, parliamentary procedure, and financial oversight are among the topics on the agenda this week as House of Assembly members undergo a post-election seminar conducted by the United Kingdom …
Continue reading “House of Assembly hosts post-election seminar”
School rehabilitation works will get a boost from $630,000 allocated via a Schedule of Additional Provisions that the House of Assembly passed July 13, according to Education, Youth Affairs and …
At elected leaders’ discretion, the government awarded nearly $23 million in assistance grants between January 2019 and May 2022 without adequate accountability or transparency, including more than $200,000 to one …
Eleven days before international assessors are scheduled to arrive as part of a key anti-money-laundering evaluation, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley introduced amendments to 16 financial services laws last Thursday …
Continue reading “16 bills rushed ahead of international review”
In recent weeks, public officers including members of the BVI Teachers Union have complained vocally about pay increments that government has owed them for years. But Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” …