SEVENTH SITTING OF THE THIRD SESSION

OF THE SECOND HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

TO BE HELD ON

FRIDAY, 13TH JUNE, 2014

AT THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

ROAD TOWN, TORTOLA

AT 10:00 A.M.

ORDER OF THE DAY

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ORDER OF THE DAY

1) Prayers

2) Confirmation of Minutes

Confirmation of Minutes for the Meeting of Thursday, 17th April, 2014

3) Announcements by the Speaker

4) Statements by Ministers

5) Presentation of Papers

a) The Minister for Health and Social Development to lay on the table the

following document:

• HIV-AIDS Foundation (BVI) Ltd. 2012 Annual Report.

b) The Attorney General to lay on the table the following document:

• 2011 Acts and Statutory Instruments and Imperial Legislation of the Virgin Islands.

6) Reports from Select Committees

a) The Leader of the Opposition to lay on the table the following document:

• Public Accounts Committee’s Final Report on the Cruise Ship Port Development Project.

7) Notices of Motions Given Orally

a) The Premier and Minister of Finance to give notice that, at a later stage in the proceedings, he would seek leave to move the Motion standing in his name under Item 9(1)(iii) on the Order of the Day.

b) The Minister for Health and Social Development to give notice that, at a later stage in the proceedings, he would seek leave to move the Motion standing in his name under Item 9(1)(i) on the Order of the Day.

c) The Minister for Education and Culture to give notice that, at a later stage in the

proceedings, he would seek leave to move the Motion standing in his name under Item 9(1)(ii) on the Order of the Day.

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d) The Member for the First District to give notice that, at a later stage in the proceedings, he would seek leave to ask the questions standing in his name under Items 8(i) through (iii) on the Order of the Day.

e) The Member for the Third District to give notice that, at a later stage in the

proceedings, he would seek leave to ask the questions standing in his name under Items 8(iv) through (vi) on the Order of the Day.

8) Questions and Answers to Questions

i) The Member for the First District to ask the Premier and Minister of Finance

the following questions:

Question 1

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House since taking office in November 2011 to present, what is the total amount of money paid to PriceWaterHouseCoopers by the Central Government and if each such hire involved competitive bidding and/or the tender process?

Question 2

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House since taking office in November 2011 to present, what is the total amount of money paid to PriceWaterHouseCoopers by each Statutory Body of the Government of the Virgin Islands and if each such hire involved competitive bidding and/or the tender process?

Question 3

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House since taking office in November 2011 to present, what is the total amount of money expended on travel abroad on official travel, inclusive of hotel, ground transportation, podium, and all other travel related expenses, for all Ministers and members of the Public Service?

Question 4

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House, to date, what is the total amount of the public debt?

Question 5

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please furnish this Honourable House with a detailed breakdown of each component that forms part of the current total public debt and the amounts that each component contributes to the public debt in dollars and in percentage?

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Question 6

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House since taking office in November 2011 to present, what is the total amount of money his Administration has spent on projects exceeding one hundred thousand dollars?

Question 7

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House if his Government is in the process of negotiating with any company or individual to rent, lease, sell or enter any Public Private Partnership involving the section of Prospect Reef that is owned by the Government of the Virgin Islands?

Question 8

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House if his Government has already entered into any agreement with any company or individual to rent, lease, sell or enter into any Public Private Partnership involving the section of Prospect Reef that is owned by the Government of the Virgin Islands?

Question 9

Madam Speaker, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please give this Honourable House an update on the current status of the project in Carrot Bay to construct a fisherman’s dock in the vicinity of the landfill area as well as include timelines and dates for each phase of the project?

Question 10

Madam Speaker, given that the landfill area in Carrot Bay is an ideal area to develop as a cultural and tourism center that would significantly stimulate the economic activities in Carrot Bay and the Territory, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of his Government’s plan to develop the landfill area in Carrot Bay as well as include timelines and dates for each phase of the project?

Question 11

Madam Speaker, given the ongoing significant increase in crime in the Territory, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please give this Honourable House a detailed outline on how his Government intends to address this increase in crime with the intent of significantly reducing crime in the Territory?

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Question 12

Madam Speaker, given the ongoing significant increase in crime in the Territory, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of how and when his Government intends to properly fund the police so that they could be adequately equipped to successfully fight crime in the Territory?

Question 13

Madam Speaker, given the ongoing significant increase in crime in the Territory especially in the First District, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House 1) why the West End Police Station is only open and accessible to the public for limited hours rather than for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

2) when will the problems with the West End Police Station Building be

fully addressed and rectified?

3) when will the West End Police Station be fully functional and once again accessible to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

4) if there are any immediate plans to temporarily relocate the West End

Police Station to another location within the First District and if not why not?

Question 14

Madam Speaker, since taking office in November 2011 to present, the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance and his Government have repeatedly placed on record in this Honourable House, among other forums, that the last Administration left the Government in expenses in excess of forty million dollars “in the red”, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please furnish this Honourable House with a detailed breakdown of this claim affixed with the amounts attributed to each component that forms part of such claim inclusive of the dates of when each such expense was incurred?

Question 15

Madam Speaker, from November 2011 since taking office, to the end of December 2011, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of the total contributions/revenue received by the Central Government from the Financial Services Commission indicating the dates and the amounts for each contribution/revenue received for the specified time period?

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Question 16

Madam Speaker, since taking office in November 2011 to December 2011, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of the total contributions/revenue received by the Central Government, non-inclusive of those received from the Financial Services Commission for the specified time period?

Question 17

Madam Speaker, to date, would the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House:

1. what is the dollar amount of all unpaid vouchers at the Treasury; 2. what is the date of the longest outstanding unpaid voucher; 3. what is the balance of the Consolidated Fund; and, 4. what is the balance of all other established Funds?

ii) The Member for the First District to ask the Minister for Communications and

Works the following questions:

Question 1

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please inform this Honourable House, to date, what is the overall cost expended by his Government, inclusive of all costs: material, technical expertise, and all soft and hard costs, to date, of works done since taking office in November 2011 on the following projects:

1. the parking lot project across the road from the Peeble’s Hospital; 2. the Georgie Hill project; 3. the Crafts Alive; and, 4. the Manse Road now named the Paul P. Wattley Road ?

Question 2

Madam Speaker, given that the hurricane season is upon us once again, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please inform this Honourable House when the next phase of the drainage project will commence, inclusive of the pumps being installed in Capoon’s Bay, especially in the area known as the Bottom, seeing that the First Phase of the project commenced prior to November 2011?

Question 3

Madam Speaker, given that the First District is a highly populated area, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please tell this Honourable House when the Fire Station in Capoon’s Bay will be:

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1. fully operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? 2. equipped with a Fire tender stationed at the Fire Station in Capoon’s Bay?

3. staffed full time? and

4. maintained and upgraded, inclusive of the road to enter and exit the

compound?

Question 4

Madam Speaker, given that the Sopher’s Hole/West End Jetty is a highly traversed area by both locals, visitors and tourists, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please inform this Honourable House if the designs for the new Jetty are completed? If yes, then:

1. what is the projected cost of the project?

2. how will it be funded?

3. when will there be a public meeting with the people of the First District and

the Territory to allow for public input?

4. when is the works scheduled to commence? and,

5. if the designs are not completed, then please inform this Honourable House when they will be completed?

iii) The Member for the First District to ask the Minister for Education and Culture

the following questions:

Question 1

Madam Speaker, given that we all agree that all efforts must be exhausted in continuously improving our education product, could the Honourable Minister for Education and Culture please inform this Honourable House: 1) if any study or assessment was done to examine at what level of our education system at this time, primary or secondary, would the extra year in school serve to improve our education system and provide us with such study or assessment? and,

2. If no study or assessment was done, please inform this Honourable House

what was the basis for which the decision to add the extra school year at the secondary level versus adding the extra year to the primary level was made?

3. provide this Honourable House with the statistical data to support the

decision to add the extra school year to the secondary level versus adding the extra year to the primary level?

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4. tell this Honourable House what mechanism will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of adding the extra year to the secondary level?

5. provide a breakdown of the new expenses to be incurred per school year with the addition of the extra school year to the secondary level versus adding the additional school year to the primary level?

Question 2

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Education and Culture please inform this Honourable House when will the process of having our education system/schools accredited be completed?

iv) The Member for the Third District to ask the Premier and Minister of Finance

the following questions:

Question 1

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please present this Honourable House with:

a) the revenue and expenditure for the months of April and May 2014, and

indicate whether we are on par with budget projections for 2014 ?

b) a comparison of the same figures for 2014 in (a) above, with those of 2013 ? and

c) indicate where the revenues in (a) above were derived in dollar amount ?

Question 2

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please provide this Honourable House with Treasury Statements for the months of April and May 2014 ?

Question 3

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please provide this Honourable House with:

a) a register of all revenue received from the Financial Services Commission

indicating the dates received and individual amounts during the Months of April and May 2014; and

b) a comparison of the figures in (a) above with the same period in 2013 ?

Question 4

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell

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this Honourable House what were the contributions to the Reserve Fund for each of the months January, February, March, April and May 2014?

Question 5

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House:

a) what is the current balance of the Reserve Fund? and

b) what is the current balance of each of the other established Funds?

Question 6

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House:

a) the dollar amount of all unpaid vouchers at the Treasury; and

b) the date of the longest outstanding unpaid voucher ?

Question 7

Madam Speaker, as regards to the $35,000,000 loan sought from First Caribbean International Bank for the Cruise Pier Development Project, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance:

a) please provide this Honourable House with the written approval from the Secretary of State as is required on an annual basis before any new public borrowing is undertaken, as stipulated in Section 27 (b) of the Protocols for Effective Financial Management signed on April 23, 2012 between his Government and the Government of the United Kingdom;

b) indicate whether the approval from the Secretary of State was obtained before the contracts for the project were awarded and signed; and

c) indicate whether the approval from the Secretary of State was obtained before

the ground was broken for the project ?

Question 8

Madam Speaker, as regards to the $ 22,000,000 loan sought from First Caribbean International Bank for Sewage Works, among others, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance:

a) please provide this Honourable House with the written approval from the Secretary of State as is required on an annual basis before any new public borrowing is undertaken, as stipulated in Section 27 (b) of the Protocol for

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Effective Financial Management, signed on April 23, 2012 between his Government and the Government of the United Kingdom;

b) indicate whether the approval from the Secretary of State was obtained before the contract for the Sewage project was awarded and signed; and

c) indicate whether the approval from the Secretary of State was obtained before

the ground was broken for the project ?

Question 9

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please provide this Honourable House with:

a) a list of all projects by name and contract number upon which work

(was completed partially or in whole) prior to November 7, 2011 for which payments were not made before that date;

b) Please give the reason for which payments were not made.

c) the amounts owed on each project as detailed in (a) above; and

d) the total amount owed.

Question 10

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance tell this Honourable House whether:

a) any or all payments for work described in Question 9(a) above has been paid

to contractors; and b) provide us with the payments details such as voucher dates and date and time

received by Treasury for payment; form of payment, whether wire transfer, check or otherwise with date and number ?

Question 11

Madam Speaker, recently the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance revealed that employment for the first quarter of 2013 was better than that of 2012, could he:

a) please present this Honourable House with the statistics to support this observation ?

b) Please give this Honourable House the unemployment rate for the same period in both years (2012 and 2013) with the statistics to support it.

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v) The Member for the Third District to ask the Minister for Health and Social

Development the following question:

Question 1

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Health and Social Development please tell this Honourable House whether:

a) any of the services rendered to children by the BVI Health Services

Authority attract a fee that parents are obligated to pay ?

b) If the answer to (a) is yes, please provide this Honourable House with a list of those services together with prices.

vi) The Member for the Third District to ask the Minister for Communications and

Works the following questions:

Question 1

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works

please tell this Honourable House whether:

a) the project referred to as the Manse Road is completed as stated in a Ministry publication highlighting his accomplishments at mid-term ?

b) If the answer to (a) is yes, could he kindly tell this Honourable House if the original agreement between Government and the landowners requiring that the affected properties be protected with retaining walls, and further be facilitated with paved access roads has been renegotiated ?

c) If the answer to (b) is yes, what is the new agreement as far as compensation goes?

d) If the answer to (a) is no, what is still outstanding on the

project?

e) Has any compensation been given to any of the landowners ?

f) If the answer to (e) is no, why not ? and

g) If the answer to (e) is yes, please tell this Honourable House who the landowners are, the amount given and when.

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Question 2

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please tell this Honourable House whether:

a) the properties east of the Administration Complex that were

recently fenced are private or Government owned ? b) If the properties are privately owned, why were they fenced as

a part of a Ports Authority project?

c) Who paid for the fencing, and what is the total cost of all works done to the properties, including fencing, and who paid for it ?

d) Who are the owners of the properties, and what is the

financial and/or other arrangement made between each owner and the Ports Authority?

Question 3

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please tell this Honourable House:

a) who were the contractors that bid on the Cruise Pier Landside

Project? b) what were the amounts of each bid received?

c) was the Contract awarded to the lowest bidder?

d) If the answer to (c) is no, then doesn’ t that violate Section

11 (b) of the Protocols for Effective Financial Management

which states that ““““ All projects must be subjected to a

Tendering and procurement process that guarantees

the highest levels of transparency and fairness

practicable,…” in so far as it brings the issue of fairness

into question?; and also

e) If the answer to (c) is no, who was the contract awarded to, and why?

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Question 4

Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please tell this Honourable House:

a) who were the contractors that bid on the Cruise Pier Extension Project?

b) what were the amounts of each bid received?

c) was the Contract awarded to the lowest bidder?

d) If the answer to (c) is no, then doesn’ t that violate Section

11 (b) of the Protocols for Effective Financial Management

which states that ““““ All projects must be subjected to a

Tendering and procurement process that guarantees the

highest levels of transparency and fairness

practicable,…” in so far as it brings the issue of fairness into question?; and also

e) If the answer to (c) is no, who was the contract awarded to,

and why?

9) Public Business

1) Government Business

Introduction and First Reading

i) The Minister for Health and Social Development to move a Motion for the

Introduction and First Reading of the Bill entitled, “Mental Health Act,

2014”;

Second and Third Readings

ii) The Minister for Education and Culture to move a Motion for the Second and

Third Readings of the Bill entitled, “Education (Amendment) Act, 2014”;

iii) The Premier and Minister of Finance to move the following Motion:

WHEREAS it is provided by section 33 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2004 (No. 2 of 2004) that the Government or any person acting on behalf of the Government has no power to give a guarantee involving the Government in any financial liability unless the guarantee is

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given in accordance with an enactment or under the authority of a resolution of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands;

WHEREAS the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands approved by Resolution No. 4 of 2014 the borrowing by the British Virgin Islands Ports Authority (hereinafter referred to as “BVI Ports Authority”) from First Caribbean International Bank (Cayman) Limited and its affiliates (“CIBC First Caribbean”) the sum of thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000.00) for the purposes of assisting with the cost of the extension and widening of the Road Town Cruise Ship Pier and the creation of an adjacent mixed use real estate facility (Pier Park);

AND WHEREAS it is expedient that the Government guarantee the said borrowing of thirty-five million, dollars ($35,000,000.00) by BVI Ports Authority from First Caribbean International Bank (Cayman) and its affiliates;

NOW BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands approves the guaranteeing by the Government of the repayment of the sum of thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000.00) borrowed by BVI Ports Authority from First Caribbean International Bank (Cayman) and its affiliates for the purposes of assisting with the cost of the extension and widening of the Road Town Cruise Ship Pier and the creation of an adjacent mixed use real estate facility (Pier Park).

2) Private Members Business

10) Other Business

11) Adjournment