Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Mr. Ronald Smith-Berkeley has announced that a Crown Land Allocation Register will be established soon in the Territory.

Mr. Smith-Berkeley made the announcement on the Government of the Virgin Islands programme “Table Talk”. The programme is aired on Facebook @BVIGovernment and has been produced to keep the community abreast of Government’s progress in relation to the implementation of the recommendations which came out of the Commission of Inquiry (COI).

Mr.  Smith-Berkeley said, “By the time this review is done, what we will have is a register that delineates all the crown land that we have available in the country, who applied, the size of the area of land acquired as well as how much they paid for this land.  In other words, complete transparency.”

The Permanent Secretary said once the register is completed and operational, it will be available for the public’s information on crown land that is available for purchasing.

Mr. Berkeley further stated, “Once someone has an interest for purchasing land, they will be directed to this particular register on the Government’s website to see where land is available, how much is available, for either commercial or residential purposes, or agricultural purposes.  This will give persons an insight of exactly what they are looking for, avoiding persons having to guess when they are applying.”

The Government of the Virgin Islands continues to strengthen its standards by providing good governance through improved infrastructure, enhanced delivery of public services and justice for all. It is committed to ensuring greater confidence in the ability to deliver to the people of the Virgin Islands easier access to services through inclusion, greater enforcement, enhanced safety and security, effective communication, socio-economic political ability, value for money, continued accountability, greater transparency and building capacity. This is, “Government Business at its Best”.