Affirming the Virgin Islands’ Identity

On Monday July 1, the BVI will pause to reflect and further affirm its identity, when the Government spearheads the observance of the first Territory Day with a celebration at the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park.

The celebration will begin at 9am with a ceremony and remarks by Premier of the Virgin Islands Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE and Minister for Education and Culture Honourable Myron V. Walwyn. The day has been observed as a public holiday for a number of years.

The official Territorial signs and symbols such as the food, music, flower and fabric will be revealed. Other known Territorial signs and symbols will also be on display and attendees will be treated to a cultural dramatization focused on the significance of the Virgin Islands’ development as a Territory, according to a Government press release.

Territory Day, known as Colony Day up until 1978, stems from the dissolution of the Federation of the Leeward Islands, of which the Virgin Islands was a part. The Leeward Islands Federation dissolved in 1956 in preparation for the creation of the West Indies Federation which came into being in 1958.

The Virgin Islands did not join the West Indies Federation because the Legislators at the time: Howard Penn, Isaac Fonseca, Charles Brudenell-Bruce and Carlton deCastro, reportedly felt that the new political grouping was not in the best interest of the Territory. With the dissolution of the Leeward Islands Federation, the Presidency of the Virgin Islands ceased to exist and the Colony of the Virgin Islands came into being.

By becoming a separate colony of the United Kingdom, the Virgin Islands was given more political and economic autonomy.

The Leeward Islands Federation came into being in 1871 and existed until 1956. From 1956 – 1978, the islands were referred to as a “Colony” but subsequently renamed a “Territory”.
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The Virgin Islands status as a Territory signifies its advancement towards self government and economic development.

The promoting of Territorial signs and symbols as part of the first Territory Day celebration, is expected to serve as an opportunity for Virgin Islanders to affirm their identity and foster a sense of Territorial pride.

Raising Taxes in a Volatile Economic Climate?

The Members of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands are meeting again today for the 9th Sitting of the 2nd Session of the 2nd House of Assembly.

Amidst all of the semantics as it relates to Standing Orders (the rules that govern the House), where the Opposition has a barrage of questions for the Government and the Government finds some of the questions misdirected, there is a statement that was made earlier in the Sitting that must not go un-noticed.

Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. D. Orlando Smith has announced a 100% increase in the fee residents are required to pay when leaving the Territory via the sea ports.

Everyone anywhere in the world can identify with this! A fee hike? In this volatile economic climate?

That’s all I am sure most BVI residents will be hearing. But here is the explanation in the Premier’s statement:

Here is the statement:

Madam Speaker, this Territory has been feeling the effects of stagnant revenue growth for some time now. As one small step towards addressing this, my colleagues and I have decided to raise the passenger tax now paid by individuals travelling by sea from $5.00 to $10.00 for BVI residents and fifteen dollars for non residents.

The increase in the Passenger Tax will also allow the Territory to capture lost revenue resulting from the demographic shift over the years of visitors that travel by sea from neighbouring St. Thomas because of insufficient air lift through Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport.

Madam Speaker, this has been a trend that has developed over the years and with the proposed increase it is felt that this should not impact the decision of travelers to travel to the Territory.

Madam Speaker, adaptation of the proposal would result in an equivalent rate of $20.00 that is charged for passenger Tax (Air) for non residents ($15.00 per person plus a security fee of $5.00). In effect residents will realise a moderate increase on a tax rate that has being constant for almost 20 years.

The BVI’s current passenger tax rate is below that of its neighbours in the region. Anguilla for example has a departure tax rate of US $20.00 per adult and $10.00 per child ages 5 to 11 leaving by sea or air for visitors while residents pay a smaller tax of US $5.00.

In St. Kitts and Nevis, citizens currently pay US $18.49 and nonresidents US $21.51. They have also proposed an across the board new rate of US $37.00.

Madam Speaker, we are targeting the beginning of June to effect this change.

In addition Madam Speaker, we will introduce an administrative system that allows individuals to purchase passes that will allow them to travel without the payment of passenger tax on each exit from the Territory. These passes will be valid for predetermined periods of time.

Madam Speaker, I would also like take this opportunity to announce the implementation of a period of amnesty for the penalties associated with the payment of Property Tax, commencing on the 1st June 2013, until the end this year. The period of amnesty will allow taxpayers to become current with their property tax arrears, without being charged for the outstanding penalties.

Madam Speaker this initiative is geared at allowing property owners to become up-to-date on their taxes, without placing the added burden of penalties on their already stretched finances.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues here on both sides of the house to give these two initiatives their full support.

Thank you.

Photo of Premier Smith – GIS

Strive to be a Better You!

Hi everyone, I felt moved to just stop by here to wish you all a great day and leave you some encouragement.

It has been quite an interesting week so far for me – lots of work (I am thankful for that) and an interesting reminder of the sad world we’re living in.

In my little part of the world, we had a suicide involving a young man, a gas tank explosion where at least two people were seriously injured and a caller to a talk show protesting the “loud noise” coming from an evangelistic meeting!

If the British Virgin Islands records one murder in any given year, this is extremely alarming and puts the Territory in a high state of alert. We are a relatively crime free community, apart from a few burglaries, assault cases etc, which the police are working hard to stamp out.

So when someone kills themself, the entire Territory mourns with the family, whether we knew the individual or not.

I am thankful that the explosion did not claim the lives of anyone and I certainly hope that there were lessons learnt from that experience.

Now, maybe because I am one who is particularly enjoying the evangelistic meetings and I do believe that more people need to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ, I was particularly alarmed about the person who was disturbed enough to call the police, call the authorities and call in to a live television talk show, to complain about the ‘noise’.

Straightaway I will say that I do believe the noise coming from any public event must be moderated to take into consideration the privacy and comfort of the neighbours and so, if there is a complaint, even if it comes from a chronic complainer, it should be acknowledged.

However, if given the chance to choose between something positive and something negative, I think everyone would want to choose the positive.

I would certainly prefer to see a society of people trying to do good than one which revels in evil doings. But that’s just me.

Call it what you must, whether you are a Christian or not, I am confident that there must be a better way than what pertains in this world today.

Aren’t you tired of wars (whether national or individual), famine, sickness, poverty, traffic fatalities, criminal activity and all of these evils?

Don’t you want to live in a world of utopia?

I believe in, not an imaginary place, but a real place called Heaven, and am so looking forward to that life!

Can’t we all get along in the meantime? Well, at least, more of us then?

My encouragement at this time is for more of us to strive to become better persons – more loving to our family and friends, more hospitable to our neighbours, more honest in our dealings and truer to ourselves!

Cheers.