Order Paper for March 12 2015

FOURTH SITTING OF THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE SECOND HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, 12th MARCH, 2015 AT THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ROAD TOWN, TORTOLA AT 10:00 A.M.

ORDER OF THE DAY

ORDER OF THE DAY 1)

Prayers

2)

Confirmation of Minutes Confirmation of Minutes for the Meeting of 12th February, 2015

3)

Announcements by the Speaker

4)

Statements by Ministers

5)

Presentation of Papers a)

b)

6)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to lay on the table the following document: i)

Territorial Action Plan to Address Matters Affecting the Virgin Islands Financial Services Industry; and

ii)

Complaints Commissioner’s Special Report No. 13

The Minister for Health and Social Development to lay on the table the following documents: i)

British Virgin Islands Diabetes Association 2013 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements; and

ii)

Social Security Board Annual Report 2013.

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 Motions standing in his name under Items 8(1)(i),(ii),(v),(vi),(vii),(x) and (xi) on the Order of the Day.

b)

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour to give notice that, at a later stage in the proceedings, he would seek leave to move the Motions standing in his name under Items 8(1)(iii), (iv), (viii) and (xii) on the Order of the Day.

c)

The Minister for Communications and Works 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 8 (1)(ix).

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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 7(i) 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 7(ii) through (iv) on the Order of the Day.

7) Questions and Answers to Questions

i)

The Member for the First District to ask the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance the following questions: Question 1 Madam Speaker, would the Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of the grand totals of all unpaid invoices respectively from each Ministry, Department and all other sections of Central Government to date?

Question 2 Madam Speaker, would the Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House whether or not they were any advanced Warrants issued for the period January 2015 to present and if yes please state the grand total of all advance warrants issued for this period and further provide a detailed listing of names, amounts, purpose and budgetary heads and sub-heads for each Warrant?

Question 3 Madam Speaker, would the Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of all private legal firms or legal persons engaged or contracted by his Central Government from December 2011 to present? i) ii) iii)

List the amount paid to each whether through contracts or purchase orders; The reason for hiring each; If the Central Tender Process was used and if not why not?

Question 4 Madam Speaker, would the Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of all private legal firms or legal persons engaged or contracted by each Statutory Body and wholly owned private companies of the Government of the Virgin Islands from December 2011 to present? i) List the amount paid to each whether through contracts or purchase orders and the respective dates; ii) The reason for hiring each; 2

iii) If the Central Tender Process was used and if not why not?

Question 5 Madam Speaker, would the Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of all agencies or persons acting as collecting agencies on the behalf of the Government of the Virgin Islands that were engaged or contracted by his Government from December 2011 to present? i. ii. iii.

List the amount paid to each whether through contracts or purchase orders or otherwise; The reason for hiring each; If the Central Tender Process was used and if not why not?

Question 6 Madam Speaker, would the Premier and Minister of Finance please inform this Honourable House of all agencies or persons acting as collecting agencies that were engaged or contracted by each Statutory Body and wholly owned private companies of the Government of the Virgin Islands from December 2011 to present?

1. List the amount paid to each whether through contracts or purchase orders or otherwise; 2. The reason for hiring each; 3. If the Central Tender Process was used and if not, why not?

Question 7 Madam Speaker, would Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House whether or not all outstanding increments owing to all civil servants for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, have been paid in full as at the 28th February 2015?

1. If not, could the Premier and Minister of Finance please indicate which sector of civil servants have been paid and which have not?

2. If not, could the Premier and Minister of Finance please advise this House of the revised schedule for payment of the outstanding increments? ii)

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 tell this Honourable House if when he was asked at our last Sitting, what was his Government’s position on the repeated calls from the international community including the United Kingdom for the establishment of a beneficial ownership of 3

companies register, and in response his answer concluded, “After careful consideration, the BVI Government has concluded that our resources should be focused on implementing reforms to the current regime to ensure that it is fully effective”, it is fair for us to conclude that the BVI under his Administration will not be establishing this register?

Question 2 Madam Speaker, if the answer to Question No. 1 is yes, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House if, this decision was reached before or after the Leader of the United Kingdom’s Opposition Labour Party Ed Miliband’s declaration of February 10th, 2015 that “Today we are serving notice on tax havens linked to Britain that they must open their books within six months of a Labour government, or face international actions” ?

Question 3 Madam Speaker, at the time of Mr. Miliband’s declaration a letter to the same effect was being sent to all Overseas Territories including the Virgin Islands, and the Crown Dependencies. Could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House what is contained in that letter?

Question 4 Madam Speaker, at our last Sitting I asked the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance to please present this Honourable House with a list of all consultants hired under his Ministries and The National Bank of The VI with active contracts during the 2014 year and a copy of each contracts/agreements for the consultants indicated on the list. To date I have not received the contracts/agreements, so I am again asking the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance to please present this Honourable House with same.

Question 5 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House if according to his answer at the last Sitting, that the landside of the Cruise Pier Development Project is estimated at $29,418,000, and it is to be financed by way of $5 million coming from the loan funding secured by the BVIPA, and another $16.5 million to be raised via the Public Offering, where is the shortfall of $8 million expected to come from?

Question 6 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House why wasn’t this Honourable House made aware that they had fallen short of projections in their attempts to finance the landside of the Cruise Pier Development Project, as is indicated in Question 5 above.

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Question 7 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House, of the $6,101,000 raised by the Public Offering as of January 31st 2015 towards the financing of the landside of the Cruise Pier Development Project, what portion if any came from the Social Security Board, and the source of all the remainder.

Question 8 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House whether it is legal for persons who are not Belongers to invest in Series III of the Public Offering as stated in his answer at the last Sitting, without first obtaining a Non-Belonger Land Holding License?

Question 9 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House how much money has been raised by the Public Offering for the Cruise Pier Development Project to date?

Question 10 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House whether his government has entered into any agreement for the privatization of the Terrence B. Lettsome International Airport?

Question 11 Madam Speaker, if the answer to Question 8 is No, could the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance please tell this Honourable House whether his government has embarked on the process of the privatization of the Terrence B. Lettsome International Airport? iii)

The Member for the Third District to ask the Minister for Health and Social Development the following questions: Question 1 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Health and Social Development please present this Honourable House with a list of all service providers, together with their contracts, hired by the British Virgin Islands Health Services Authority with active contracts during the 2014 year to prepare food for patients at the hospital.

Question 2 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Health and Social Development please present this Honourable House with the contract for the dentist stationed at 5

Premier Dental to perform services on behalf of the British Virgin Islands Health Services Authority. iv)

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 when he expects to surface the portion of road from the St. Georges Secondary School in Palestina to the Sir Francis Drake’s Highway?

Question 2 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please tell this Honourable House if the said portion of road from the St. Georges Secondary School in Palestina to the Sir Francis Drake’s Highway will be done in concrete as originally intended?

Question 3 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please tell this Honourable House when he expects to complete the CDB funded works being executed in the Hannah, Palestina and Pleasant Valley area, and provide a status update.

Question 4 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please tell this Honourable House who the contractor is for the retaining wall along the road side adjacent to the Byron’s residence in the Manuel Reef section of Sea Cows Bay? Question 5 Madam Speaker, could the Honourable Minister for Communications and Works please present this Honourable House with a copy of the contract in Question 4 above?

8)

Public Business 1)

Government Business Introduction and First Reading i)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to move a Motion for the Introduction and First Reading of the Bill entitled, “Legal Profession Act, 2015”; 6

ii)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to move a Motion for the Introduction and First Reading of the Bill entitled, “Financial Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, 2015”;

iii)

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour to move a Motion for the Introduction and First Reading of the Bill entitled, “Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 2015”;

iv)

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour to move a Motion for the Introduction and First Reading of the Bill entitled, “ Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund Act, 2015”;

Second and Third Readings v)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to move a Motion for the Second and Third Readings of the Bill entitled, “Pioneer Services and Enterprises (Amendment) Act, 2014;

vi)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to move a Motion for the Second and Third Readings of the Bill entitled, Arbitration (Amendment) Act, 2014”;

vii)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to move a Motion for the Second and Third Readings of the Bill entitled, Securities and Investment Business (Amendment) Act, 2015”;

viii)

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour to move a Motion for the Second and Third Readings of the Bill entitled, “Veterinary Act, 2014”

ix)

The Minister for Communications and Works to move a Motion for the Second and Third Readings of the Bill entitled, “British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2015;

x)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to move the following Motion: BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands approves the supplementary estimate set out in the Schedule which represents monies to be expended under their respective Heads in variation of the amount appropriated by the Appropriation Act, 2012 (Act No. 2 of 2012) as follows: (a) Recurrent Expenditure of twenty million, seven hundred and eighty four thousand one hundred dollars ($20,784,100) to be charged against the Consolidated Fund of the Territory and (b) Development Expenditure of six million one hundred and seventy four thousand, three hundred dollars ($6,174,300) to be charged against the Development Fund of the Territory by way of funds transferred from the 7

Consolidated Fund; xi)

The Premier and Minister of Finance to move the following Motion: WHEREAS the Government of the Virgin Islands is desirous of undertaking a number of major infrastructure works throughout the Virgin Islands namely, the resurfacing of major roads.

WHEREAS for purposes of financing the said projects the Government of the Virgin Islands is entering into an Unsecured Term Loan Facility with the Virgin Islands Social Security Board; AND WHEREAS the Social Security Board has provided a Proposed Term Sheet indicating the Board’s general interest in providing the Credit Facility for the Government of the Virgin Islands for US$16 Million.

NOW BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly approves the Proposed Term Sheet here presented so that Government can enter the Unsecured Term Loan Facility with the Social Security Board: SUMMARY OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS USD 16.00 Million Unsecured Term Loan Facility

BORROWER:

Government of the Virgin Islands (“GOVI”)

LENDER:

Social Security Board of the Virgin Islands (the “Board”)

UNSECURED TERM LOAN FACILITY: Amount:

The principal amount not to exceed $16,000,000

Purpose:

Major infrastructure work throughout the Virgin Islands - resurfacing of major roads (altogether the “Works)

Interest:

The loan amount shall bear interest at US Prime Rate plus 75 basis points per annum on all outstanding principal.

Interest is payable quarterly and calculated daily on a 360 day [twelve 30 day months] basis

Maturity:

Excluding any grace periods which may be offered by the Lender, the term to maturity of the Loan Facility shall not be more than ten [10] years.

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Repayment: The Borrower will repay the aggregate principal amount, subject to any grace period, in no more than forty-eight [48] equal quarterly payments.

The Lender may offer, upon further negotiations, a grace period, during which interest only payments on outstanding principal are made by the Borrower, of no more than two [2] years.

DOCUMENTATION:

The loan facility described above will be subject to the execution of a loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) and other documentation, which will contain terms, conditions and covenants satisfactory in the form and substance to the Lender, including, but not limited to, those described below.

Covenants:

The Loan Agreement shall contain the following covenants as they relate to project execution, information and reporting, records and accounts, and cooperation.

1.

Project Execution – the Borrower shall adhere to the following arrangements when carrying out the Works: a. The Borrower shall have in its service a competent and experienced person as a Project Manager whose qualifications and experience are acceptable to the Lender; b. The Borrower shall institute and maintain organizational, administrative, accounting and auditing arrangements, acceptable to the Lender; c. The Borrower shall engage in competent and experienced contractors to carry out the construction works of the Works; and d. The Borrower shall not engage with any contractor or sub-contractor for the purpose of these Works who is not in good standing with the Board.

2.

Information and Reporting – the Borrower shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the Lender the following reports in such form or forms as the Lender may require: a. during the implementation of each of the 9

Works, a monthly report on the progress and cost of works prepared by the Project Manager, submitted no later than thirty [30] days after the month in consideration or, a quarterly report on the progress and cost of works prepared by the Project Manager, submitted no later than six [6] weeks after the quarter in consideration, as the Lender may require; and b. a project completion report for the Works, prepared by the Project Manager, submitted no later than six [6] months after the final disbursement of funds for the Works.

3.

xii)

Cooperation – The Borrower and the Lender shall cooperate fully to ensure that the purpose of the Loan will be accomplished. To that end all parties shall exchange through their representatives with regard to the progress of the Works, the performance by the Borrower of its obligations under the Loan Agreement and any other matters relating to the Works.

The Minister for Natural Resources and Labour to move the following Motion: WHEREAS the Government is desirous of acquiring the portion of land described in the Schedule for a public purpose, that is to say, to construct a Pumping Station as part of the National Sewerage Project at East End, Tortola; WHEREAS section 3 (1) of the Land Acquisition Ordinance (Cap. 222) provides that if the Cabinet of the Virgin Islands considers that any land should be acquired for a public purpose it may, with the approval of the House of Assembly, cause a declaration to that effect to be made by the Cabinet Secretary; AND WHEREAS the Cabinet of the Virgin Islands duly considered and agreed at its meeting of the 4th February, 2015 that the land described in the Schedule be acquired for a public purpose in accordance with the Land Acquisition Ordinance (Cap. 222); NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands approves the acquisition of the land described in the Schedule for a public purpose, namely, to construct a Pumping Station as part of the National Sewerage Project at East End, Tortola.

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2)

Private Members Business

9)

Other Business

10)

Adjournment

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