Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Sharleen DaBreo-Lettsome, MBE has reported that a vast majority of offices within the Public Service have fully reopened to provide services to the public.

Immediately following the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto, teams from the Public Estate Management Unit within the Office of the Deputy Governor were dispatched to assess the damage across offices and begin work to rectify effects that would inhibit timely reopenings.

In a comprehensive update on recovery efforts, the Permanent Secretary highlighted the Office of the Deputy Governor’s ongoing work to assess and swiftly remedy damages caused by Tropical Storm Ernesto.

Mrs. DaBreo-Lettsome said, “We are carrying out a targeted approach to our recovery efforts and a vast majority of our offices reopened on 15^th August to provide vital services to the public. There has been some isolated instances of offices that received moderate internal damage due to flood waters and our teams quickly provided assistance to facilitate the reopening of these offices.”

Meanwhile, Public Estate Manager, Mr. Floyd Stoutt, commented on efforts to return the Public Service’s estate to normalcy and plans to develop sustainable solutions to issues that arise due to hazard impacts.

Mr. Stoutt said, “While we have quickly responded to the needs of offices across the Public Service, the reality is that we will continue to be impacted by systems like these, however, we are developing solutions that prevent us from being unable to provide vital services to the public.”

Today, teams have continued the clearing of debri from Crown-owned residential spaces. This includes the cutting and removal of fallen tress and foreign objects, as well as the restoration of damaged aspects of the respective homes.

The Office of the Deputy Governor is providing full support to offices that sustained damage and are currently experiencing difficulty, in an effort to facilitate a swift return to normal service delivery.

The Government of the Virgin Islands remains committed to delivery of services to the Virgin Islands public.