His Excellency, the Governor Mr. John J. Rankin, CMG, chaired the Meeting held on 5 th October, 2022, which was held at the Financial Services Commission’s Resource Centre, Jones Building.

Madam Speaker, I wish to provide a brief report to this Honourable House on the Government's continuing efforts to increase airlift to the Virgin Islands so that we can make traveling easier and more affordable for all our residents and visitors, which is important to our tourism industry and our economy.

Madam Speaker, as we approach the start of the 2022-2023 cruise season and strive to enhance our service standard, the Taxi and Livery Commission, in conjunction with the Ministry of Communication and Works, will be undertaking a few initiatives, including the establishment of a Public Transportation Dispatching Unit under the Taxi and Livery Commission, and a review of the Taxi Tariff.

Madam Speaker, the Ministry of Communications and Works commenced in earnest the works at the Market Square in 2021, and we are anticipating the completion of this project will be in the 1st Quarter of 2023.

Madam Speaker, the British Virgin Islands Ports Authority, by board resolution in November of 2019, decided to register a company in Miami, Florida.
The purpose of that company, named the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) LLC, was to enable the BVI Ports Authority to rent office space in the Miami area to provide an outreach location for its cruise business. In addition, it was decided that the office space could also host the BVI Tourist Board and the BVI Shipping Registry.

The BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) continues to make significant strides as it relates to the Territory’s clean energy transition to utilizing more renewable energy.

In January 2021, BVIEC was successful in obtaining a grant from the Canadian Support to the Energy Sector in the Caribbean (CSES-S) Fund, being administered by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for technical assistance in supporting BVIEC with project preparation of a Climate Resilient Energy Infrastructure Project in the Paraquita Bay area, aimed at improving the resilience of the Territory’s national transmission grid infrastructure by placing the sole portion of BVIEC’s transmission network underground, and adding a Renewable Energy Generation and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities.

As most of us should be aware, the Waste Water Treatment Plant at Burt Point suffered substantial damage during the passage of Hurricane Irma in 2017 and was eventually inoperable at a later point thereafter.

Madam Speaker, I wish to report to this Honourable House on two recent initiatives aimed at improving trade and commerce within the region, and which I was fortunate to be a part of, representing the Virgin Islands.

Madame Speaker, 21 October is a significant day in the Virgin Islands.

On that day, 50 years ago in 1972, the first observance of BVI/USVI (British Virgin Islands/United States Virgin Islands) Friendship Day was held here, specifically on Tortola.

Madam Speaker, last Friday, 21 October, 2022, the Virgin Islands witnessed yet another senseless, reckless and outright despicable act of gun violence, which resulted in the loss of two lives and injuries to two other persons in Fat Hog’s Bay. The deceased are Kawa Cornwall, aged 38, of Long Bush, and Kadeem E. Frett, 28, of Long Look. The incident took place shortly after 8:30 pm in a very busy and crowded area in Fat Hog’s Bay.