Madame Speaker, at this time I wish to make a statement on the payment for performance increments for public officers.

In 2014 when many countries experienced financially rigorous times, and governments began to cut their costs by downsizing public offices and jobs, the Government of the Virgin Islands committed to deploying strategies and initiatives to improve the financial and economic future of this country.

Madame Speaker over a year ago, I took up the position of chairman of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA). 

Upon taking up this position I set out in my agenda, a number of Objectives for the advancement of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) that I wished to pursue within the framework of the revised Overseas Association Decision (OAD), and across four areas of work that included political visibility, programming, partnership and participation. 

Madame Speaker, with your kind permission, I would like to make the following Statement:

Madame Speaker, the BVI continues to be a well-known and recognised international finance centre. This status comes with certain obligations and responsibilities including, in particular, ensuring compliance with established international standards on regulation, law enforcement and cooperation.

Today marks the beginning of Public Service Excellence Award initiative. This programme is a new and improved form of what was known as the Employee of the Quarter Award.

It is a great pleasure for me, as your Governor, to hand over the Certificates of Naturalisation to a total of 48 people who have made their homes in the Virgin Islands.  Today is your day, marking a key milestone in your quest for British Citizenship.  Many of you will have harboured this ambition for years.  I hope and imagine that all of you are feeling a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in attaining this citizenship status, conferring as it does the right to carry a BVI passport and to apply for a full British passport.

On behalf of the Premier of the Virgin Islands, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE who is away on official business, I am delighted to be among the first to officially congratulate you on becoming British Overseas Territories Citizens.

In the last quarter of 2013, I informed you of the launch of a public consultation on beneficial ownership of companies registered here in the British Virgin Islands. I am pleased to report that this consultation is complete. This consultation was in response to a policy proposed by the Government of the United Kingdom to maintain a central registry in which information on the ultimate beneficial ownership of companies would be held. The UK Government’s desire is to see this policy adopted in the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom. 

On behalf of the Department of Agriculture, I wish to express our sincerest apologies to farmers, stakeholders, members of the Anegada community, and the wider Virgin Islands community for the inconvenience caused in postponing this morning’s annual Farmers’ Week Prize Giving Ceremony and Exhibition.

The postponement was as a result of technical difficulties experienced by the ferry.  

We would like to inform the public that the ceremony and exhibition are now scheduled for Wednesday, February 4 at 11:00 a.m.

The only constant in this life is change, there are times and seasons and I’m sure most of you know that the good book says there is a time for everything.

Good morning:

When I first heard of this year’s theme for Farmers’ Week: ‘Youth in Agriculture a Must – Food Security and Cultural Sustainability - a Plus’,” I was quite pleased.

You see, the theme continuously reflect my Government’s position in building a sustainable agricultural sector, and the importance of our young people in doing so.