Heated House of Assembly exchanges this week saw Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley accuse some opposition members of wanting to the flush the financial services industry “down the drain.” The flashpoint …
February 13, 2025
November 8, 2024
Firms’ failure to file financials sparked urgent bill
Urgent legislation has been triggered after it emerged that up to 30 percent of companies registered in the Virgin Islands were on track to miss a deadline for submitting financial …
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November 7, 2024
Confidence vote could be delayed to next year after gov’t walkout
A no-confidence vote the opposition has been pushing for more than two months may now be delayed until as late as next March following a government walkout last week in …
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October 10, 2024
Premier defends $100m borrow
Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley has hit back at opposition criticism of a $100 million loan designed to boost the government’s long-delayed recovery from the hurricanes of 2017. His comments …
September 19, 2024
Financial services reforms continue
The House of Assembly suspended its usual rules on Monday to introduce and pass two financial services bills designed to avoid international sanction by bringing the territory in line with …
September 19, 2024
House tackling last COI reform
The House of Assembly began tackling its final Commission of Inquiry reform this week as legislators debated the first of five bills designed to improve the governance of five statutory …
September 5, 2024
Opposition tries no-confidence vote
Citing a lengthy list of grievances and accusing the premier of “incompetence,” the opposition attempted to topple the government with a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday in the House of …
August 20, 2024
EDITORIAL: Opposition should stop resisting COI reforms
For decades, successive Virgin Islands governments have shamelessly wasted the public’s money by awarding pork-barrel contracts to cronies and other unqualified bidders. Last month, a divided House of Assembly barely …
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August 15, 2024
HOA okays vetting law enforcers
Certain prison, customs and immigration officers could soon be subject to new vetting requirements under a bill the House of Assembly passed recently in accordance with a Commission of Inquiry …
August 2, 2024
HOA limits Cabinet’s power over contracts
Despite dissent from five opposition members, the House of Assembly narrowly voted on Tuesday to dramatically limit Cabinet’s discretion over contract awards in keeping with recommendations from the 2022 Commission …
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July 26, 2024
HOA passes governor’s inquiry bill
Shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the House of Assembly returned from closed-door committee and passed an amended version of a bill proposed by Governor Daniel Pruce to modernise the …
July 18, 2024
Guv’s inquiry bill sparks cries of ‘dictatorship’
On Tuesday in the House of Assembly, two legislators used the word “dictatorship” to decry a bill that Governor Daniel Pruce is proposing to modernise the Commission of Inquiry Act …
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July 12, 2024
HOA okays Skelton contract worth $36k monthly
The House of Assembly has passed a motion to allow Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton to retain his seat even though a company he leads is renewing a $36,000-a-month contract to …
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July 12, 2024
HOA shoring up assistance programme
The House of Assembly passed a bill Tuesday that aims to further reform the Assistance Grants Programme, which has been dramatically revamped over the past two years in keeping with …
May 30, 2024
Immigration bill passes with amendments
The Immigration and Passport Amendment Bill, 2024, passed with amendments on Friday after the House of Assembly returned from a closed-door committee session, according to HOA Public Relations Officer Linton …
May 24, 2024
HOA debates 20-year path to belongership
A 20-year residence requirement for belongership applicants is among the broad-ranging immigration reforms proposed under a bill currently under consideration in the House of Assembly. The Immigration and Passport Amendment …
May 16, 2024
National Bank urged to offer more
Demands have been made for the National Bank of the Virgin Islands to do more for customers. Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton recently raised the issue in the House of Assembly, …
April 11, 2024
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 …
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March 25, 2024
Bill keeps restrictions on interests register
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 …
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March 15, 2024
HOA votes to up penalties for withholding stats
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 …
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March 14, 2024
Property tax, buildings bills passed in HOA
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 …
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March 1, 2024
Big plans but few funds for roads
More than four hours into last week’s House of Assembly meeting, Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton asked his second question to Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer. “Would the [minister] give …
February 9, 2024
57 big ideas for the new Constitution
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 …
February 1, 2024
New governor swears in
The new governor of the Virgin Islands was sworn in to office Monday after arriving in the territory three days earlier. Upstairs in the House of Assembly building, Daniel Pruce …
January 25, 2024
Governor bids farewell
In January 2021, Governor John Rankin arrived in the Virgin Islands days after his predecessor dropped a political bombshell by announcing a Commission of Inquiry into possible corruption in the …
