Thursday, November 28, 2013 | The light that comes from wisdom never goes out.

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Vol. 29 No. 23 • 2 sections, 64 pagesRoad Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands© 2013, The BVI BEACON

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SPECIAL REPORT: MIDTERM, PART 2 OF 5

But major works slow to advanceBy JASON SMITHjsmith@bvibeacon.com

The Ministry of Natural Re-sources and Labour may be gov-ernment’s smallest ministry, but itstill has a lot on its plate. Environ-mental protection, managementof an extensive labour permit sys-tem, and the territory’s agricul-tural sector all fall under its remit.

Then there’s the need to fixthe troubled greenhouse initiativeand oversee the multimillion-dollar expansion of the TerranceB. Lettsome International Air-port, which is slated to be thelargest capital project in the ter-ritory’s history.

But when asked about hisministry’s biggest accomplish-

Midterm see page 30

CELEBRITY CHEF

Photo: NGOVOU GYANGUnited States Chef Fed Federer prepares a meal during the Taste of theBVI cooking competition at the Noel Lloyd Positive Action MovementPark on Friday. The event kicked off Restaurant Week, which is cur-rently under way. See story on page 28.

Lawsuit to allege‘clandestine’ contact

By JASON SMITHjsmith@bvibeacon.com

A cross-border legal battle to control Scrub Is-land Resort has broken out between its develop-ers and FirstBank Puerto Rico, which claims thedevelopers defaulted on more than $100 millionin loan payments.

The fight began in Virgin Islands CommercialCourt on Nov. 1: Acting on a request from thebank, Justice Edward Bannister appointed a third-party receiver to manage Scrub Island, removingthe management team put in place by MainsailDevelopment Group, the resort’s developer.

In an attempt to regain control, two Mainsail-affiliated companies that hold the resort’s assets— Scrub Island Development Group and ScrubIsland Construction Limited — filed for bank-

Developer, bankfight to controlScrub Island

Pickeringtouts recent‘simple’ steps

Scrub see page 20

Territory dubbed‘non-compliant’on transparencyFS calls label misleadingBy JASON SMITHjsmith@bvibeacon.com

It’s been a rough year for the global reputation ofthe Virgin Islands’ financial services industry.

In April someone leaked a decade’s worth of twoVI trust companies’ confidential files to a group ofjournalists, which published a series of articles scru-

‘Non-compliant’ see page 22

Page 30 | Thursday, November 28, 2013 | The BVI Beacon

PLEDGE: Expand the Terrance B. Lettsome International Air-port to accommodate private and regional jets that can reachthe territory directly from the United States. Begin discus-sions with carriers to fly this route.

The bidding process to select a contractor for this multimil-lion-dollar project continues, and a contractor should be chosen bythe end of the year, according to Deputy Premier Dr. Kedrick Picker-ing, the minister of natural resources and labour. Last year, Dr. Pick-ering said officials already had begun exploratory talks withseveral United States airlines that are “gung ho” about flying to theVirgin Islands.

PLEDGE: “Aggressively pursue the expansion of the VirginGorda Airport.”

Officials unveiled two $15 million proposals in 2009 to ex-pand the sister island’s airport, one of which would have reori-ented the runway and effectively split The Valley in half. The plans,which were met with loud objections from the community, havenot been pursued to date. Ronald Smith-Berkeley, the ministry’spermanent secretary, said the ministry is currently focusing on ex-panding the Beef Island airport to accommodate large jets fromthe mainland US. “Whatever would happen at Virgin Gorda wouldhappen after,” he added.

PLEDGE: Create a master plan for the development of Ane-gada that includes environmental protections and tourismdevelopment plans.

Dr. Pickering gave a lengthy speech before the HOA in 2012 inwhich he envisioned the island becoming a fishing, agriculture andtourism destination with a golf course. To make those varied proj-ects come together, he said, the island first needs to create a largesolar power plant. Technical advice to build the plant is beingsought from billionaire and eco-resort owner Sir Richard Branson,according to the minister. The ministry hopes to send out a requestfor proposals seeking bidders for the solar plant by the end of theyear, Dr. Pickering said. Asked if a master plan had been drafted forthe island’s development, the minister referred to his speech, call-ing it the “Anegada vision.” But no written development plan in-volving the solar facility or other major projects has been filed withthe Town and Country Planning Department.

PLEDGE: Establish a land bank to “facilitate the preservationof” home ownership for belongers.

The land bank, an initiative through which governmentwould purchase parcels of available land at market value and laterresell them to first-time homebuilders at an affordable cost, hasnot been formed. Dr. Pickering said insufficient funding was theissue, adding that he hopes the project will be included in a futurebudget cycle.

PLEDGE: Pass legislation “to protect the rights of” landlordsand tenants.

The law is still in “the embryonic stages” of being drafted, Dr.Pickering said. “It’s still a work in progress and hopefully by the endof the term we’ll have something to take to the House,” he said.

PLEDGE: “Secure land in The Valley for first-time homeowners.”The ministry frequently receives applications from Virgin Gor-

dians seeking to obtain Crown land, and it is in process of forminga committee to review those applications, Mr. Berkeley-Smith said.

PLEDGE: Review the greenhouse project to assess its viability.A review of the project has been completed, Dr. Pickering said,

adding that the next step to fix the troubled project is to seek bids for thirdparties to operate the greenhouses. A request for proposals seeking “quali-fied greenhouse experts” was issued Tuesday by the Ministry of Finance.

PLEDGE: Establish an agricultural sales corporation, a statutorybody similar to the BVI Fishing Complex, to provide farmers’ mar-kets for locally raised animals and locally grown produce.

The corporation hasn’t been created. Dr. Pickering said theministry’s efforts to improve the territory’s agriculture are currentlyfocusing on making the greenhouses at Paraquita Bay and SouthSound, Virgin Gorda operational.

PLEDGE: Pass “Introduction of Agribusiness Development”legislation.

The legislation hasn’t been passed. Dr. Pickering said that be-fore any agriculture-related laws are enacted, government needsto get the greenhouses operational.

PLEDGE: Government will enforce Section 61 of the recentlyenacted Physical Planning Act 2004, which makes provisionfor mandatory public access to all beaches in the territory.

Dr. Pickering said that all beaches in the VI remain public. Butdisputes have arisen in recent months about public access to somebeaches, particularly at Oil Nut Bay, where a developer installed aline of swim markers to keep out boats, reportedly for safety rea-sons. But a revised Beach Protection Act, which was called for inthe past two speeches from the Throne, hasn’t been enacted.

PLEDGE: Establish Anegada as an “agricultural and aqua-cultural hub”to take advantage of its open space and “abundant shallow water.”

The “master plan” for the island that Dr. Pickering unveiled in a2012 speech called for cash crop farming, sheep raising, and aquacul-ture on Anegada. But those initiatives first require affordable electric-ity to desalinate water, an initiative being pursued though the solarfarm that is planned for the island, Dr. Pickering said. “Once we startproducing water in abundant quantities in Anegada we will then in-vest in agriculture in Anegada,” he said in 2012.

PLEDGE: Develop a “legislative and management regime”that requires yachts in the territory to use holding tanks.

Mr. Berkeley-Smith said in October that more work needs tobe done in drafting the relevant legislation, which could be intro-duced to the HOA next year.

PLEDGE: Develop “current and timely” information on the en-vironment that can be used by government agencies and theprivate sector.

One effort to produce data to quantify the monetary value ofthe natural environment is under way, Dr. Pickering said. Earlierthis year, Gala Spiros, an environmental economics graduate stu-dent studying at a Dutch university, spent three months in the VI.As part of her research, she surveyed tourists about their spendingpatterns, interests and what attracted them to the territory, find-ings that will be published shortly, Dr. Pickering said.

PLEDGE: Restructure the Labour Depart-ment to improve its ability to “addressworkforce placement” for belongers.

After gathering public input duringa series of meetings in early 2012, thedepartment has been restructured, Dr.Pickering said. Part of the changes in-cluding replacing former Labour Com-missioner Oleanvine Maynard with

Janice Rymer, now the acting commissioner. Other changes includedrelaunching an Employment Services Unit to help belongers with jobplacement, a programme that often works closely with the Ministryof Education and Culture’s Youth Employment Service, he said.

PLEDGE: Conduct a “thorough review” of the territory’s employmentneeds “into the foreseeable future” to ensure that belongers havethe opportunities to develop their skills to obtain employment.

The review is “a work in progress” Dr. Pickering said. “It fitsinto the same issue of the Youth Unemployment Registry. Hope-fully, we will have the draft labour policy by the end of this year.We have it. We’re reviewing it.”

PLEDGE: Introduce legislation to regulate health and safetyin the workplace.

The legislation will be included in forthcoming regulationsneeded to accompany provisions made in the 2010 Labour Code,Dr. Pickering said. He added that Clive Pegus, the consultant whowrote the 2010 code, is willing to draft the regulations, but therehas been no available funding to date to pay him.

2011 ELECTION PLEDGES:AIRPORT EXPANSION

VIRGIN GORDA AIRPORT

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

ANEGADA MASTER PLAN

LAND BANKYES NO PARTIAL

LANDLORD/TENANT ACT

VIRGIN GORDA LAND

YES NO PARTIAL

AGRIBUSINESS LEGISLATIONYES NO PARTIAL

BEACH ACCESS

ANEGADA AQUACULTURE

HOLDING TANKS

YES NO PARTIALYES NO PARTIAL

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

LABOUR RESTRUCTURING

AGRICULTURAL SALES CORPORATION

GREENHOUSE REVIEW

EMPLOYMENT-NEEDS REVIEWYES NO PARTIAL

WORKER HEALTH AND SAFETY

Special Report

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

YES NO PARTIAL

ment since the National Demo-cratic Party regained control ofthe government in November2011, Deputy Premier Dr.Kedrick Pickering didn’t mentionany of those responsibilities.

Instead, he spoke about ef-forts to greatly expand storagecapacity at the BVI FishingComplex and improve the com-plex’s payment system.

“When I came in here anddiscovered the critical things thatneeded to be done to put the fish-ing industry on a firm footing, itwasn’t major things that neededto be done,” said Dr. Pickering,who is the minister of natural re-sources and labour. “There were alot of things, but there were amyriad of simple things.”

Throughout a recent 40-minute interview, he kept return-ing to this theme: Thoughfinances are tight and some majorprojects are taking longer thanexpected, the ministry has fo-cused on improving its day-to-day operations, he said. Fishing

In an April ceremony at theBVI Fishing Complex, Dr. Pick-ering’s enthusiasm for fishing wason full display as he described ad-vances in the complex’s facilitiesthat allow it to store five times asmany fish as it could in the past.

More study and investmentare needed to make the industrya “third pillar” of the territory’seconomy, he said, but improve-ments to the process in which theBVIFC reimburses fishers fortheir catch mean that they can getpaid a lot faster.

“What you’ve seen is al-most a domino effect,” Dr.Pickering said. “The fishermenfeel they can get their producesold, they can get their moneyin a relatively short space oftime, and they can go homeand catch fish.”

Mark Soares, an Anegadafisherman, said he feels Dr. Pick-ering is “on the right track” withthe recent improvements at thecomplex.

“It’s really made a big differ-ence over there. It’s really cleanedup the place,” Mr. Soares said.

The resulting improvementsin storage have also improvedquality and led supermarkets toincrease their offerings of locally

Midterm from page 1

Midterm see page 31

A MIDTERM PROGRESS REPORT FOR THE

MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND LABOUR

The BVI Beacon | Thursday, November 28, 2013 | Page 31Special Report

offerings of locally caught fish,according to the fisherman.

“Sometimes they’ll put a wholewahoo or mahi-mahi on ice fromthe complex,” Mr. Soares said.

Branding the territory as aplace where visitors can come toeat fresh seafood — an idea Dr.Pickering has touted often — willalso benefit the territory, Mr.Soares said.

“I think the tourism industryand the fishing industry, they gohand in hand,” he said. Economic diversification

Dr. Pickering said that beyondthe economic diversification ben-efits, improving fishing helps en-sure the territory’s food security.That was also the goal of the gov-ernment’s greenhouse initiative,which was launched in 2008 bythe Virgin Islands Party, which isnow in the opposition.

Despite the rhetorical supportvoiced by both parties, however,the greenhouses aren’t yet operat-ing and it’s unclear when they willcome on stream.

In the recent interview, Dr.Pickering said the “intellectualproperty issues” he had previouslyblamed for the delays are nearlyresolved.

He declined to detail the issuesbut said previously signed agree-ments would have required gov-ernment to pay annual royalties farinto the future.

“As far as I’m aware, the per-sons who were involved withthat work and the Dominican[Republic] connection, if not all,we’ve severed most of those ties,”he said.

A request for proposals seek-ing “qualified greenhouse experts”was issued by the Ministry of Fi-nance Tuesday, the next step tomaking the project productive,Dr. Pickering said.

“I think the future of agricul-ture in the BVI is intimately tiedto getting the greenhouses towork,” he said. “The technologyexists. It can work.”Agricultural policy

Other NDP initiatives an-nounced during the campaign thatseek to improve agriculture havenot occurred. A promised“agribusiness development” lawhas not been passed, and an agri-cultural sales cooperative, a gov-ernment-owned statutory board

that would market local produceand livestock, hasn’t been created.

Those initiatives aside, farmershave faced a host of other chal-lenges in recent years, includingthe loss of prime arable lands andlack of water, according to KhoySmith, the president of the advo-cacy group Farmers on the Move.

“I don’t think we have reallygone forward as far as where weleft off as it relates to governmentinvolvement,” Mr. Smith said.

He added that he would likegovernment to revisit the creationof an agricultural policy thatwould detail the subsidies andprotections available for farmers.The policy was proposed underthe VIP government, but nevercompleted.

Mr. Smith, who ran for officein the 2011 election, added thataside from policy changes, farmerscould benefit from small projectssuch as rehabilitation of reservoirsat Paraquita Bay.

“We don’t have to wait for agreenhouse to run to supportagribusiness,” he said.Anegada

Dr. Pickering has touted manyof the efforts envisioned to bolsteragriculture and fishing as crucial tothe future growth of Anegada, oneof the territory’s least developed is-lands. Standing before the Houseof Assembly during the 2013budget debate, Dr. Picking gave alengthy speech that unveiled whathe has called the “Anegada vi-sion.”

That vision includes a series ofinterrelated development projects,starting with a solar farm thatwould power a water desalinationplant that would irrigate cropsand provide enough water for atourism-boosting golf course.

The plans, Dr. Pickering said,are designed to enhance the is-land’s tourism and agriculturalcapacity while protecting its en-vironment.

“Most [golfers] will probablygo, stay a day or two or just go forthe day and come back, so youdon’t have to have any large in-crease in the population on Ane-gada. But the people who playgolf are usually at the higher endof the market,” he said. “Andthey’re going to eat pumpkinsoup, they’re going to eat lobster,and we’ll have enough water forsustainable development and allof the other things.”

Dr. Pickering added thatmuch of the initial research for

the Anegada projects has beencompleted. After receiving tech-nical advice from Sir RichardBranson and his team of alterna-tive energy advisers, the ministryhopes to send out a request forproposals seeking bidders to builda solar energy generation plant bythe end of the year.

Some aspects of Dr. Picker-ing’s plan have been welcomed byAnegadians.

“The solar farm: I will wel-come that tomorrow,” said islandresident Jerry Vanterpool in aSeptember interview. “As wespeak right now, that’s what I’mthinking about that.”

But he had a different opinionof the golf course, an idea theNDP has also suggested forSouth Sound, Virgin Gorda andBeef Island.

“We don’t want that at all,”Mr. Vanterpool said.

A survey conducted by thenon-profit Island ResourcesFoundation found that mostAnegadians surveyed expresseda desire for gradual develop-ment occurring in small stages,and a minority thought that bigresorts and hotels were impor-tant for the island. Restructuring

In addition to policies aimedat diversifying the territory’seconomy, Dr. Pickering said thathis ministry has also restructuredthe Labour Department and re-vamped its policies in order to as-sist businesses and help VirginIslanders obtain employment.

After holding a series of com-munity meetings to discuss labourissues in early 2012, Dr. Picker-ing replaced then-Labour Com-missioner Oleanvine Maynardwith Janice Rymer, who is nowacting in the position.

In addition to remodeling thedepartment’s Road Town offices,an Employment Services Unitwas created within the agency tohelp find suitable employment forVIslanders.

In some cases, minor alter-ations to the department’s poli-cies have allowed businesses thatdepend on expatriate labour toobtain work permits morequickly, according to the deputypremier.

As an example, he said CapeAir previously had to wait severalmonths to obtain temporary per-mits for its seasonal pilots to fly be-tween San Juan and Beef Islandduring the high tourism season.

The department, he said, wasrequiring the pilots to obtain phys-icals from VI doctors even thoughthey had to undergo the same test-ing from United States authorities.That requirement was waived.

“We solved that,” he said.“Now Cape Air is going to haveas much as 18 flights [per day] forthe upcoming season.”Labour review

Other longstanding labour is-sues will require further review.Officials are in the final stages ofappointing a tribunal called for inthe 2010 Labour Code to reviewemployee-employer disputes.

In October, Dr. Pickeringapologised to the HOA for thedelays, which he attributed inpart to the need to seek advicefrom the International LabourOrganisation.

Other aspects of the LabourCode still aren’t fully in placenearly two and a half years afterthe law was passed.

Regulations considered vitalto detailing how businesses haveto comply with the law still needto be drafted, but there isn’tmoney in this year’s budget to paya consultant to write them, Dr.Pickering said. He added that hehopes the funds will be includedin next year’s budget.

A further “review of the ter-ritory’s employment needs intothe foreseeable future,” a 2011NDP manifesto promise aimedat helping VIslanders find em-ployment, is also under way, theminister said.

“It’s a work in progress,” headded.

But it’s a task that can’t becompleted fast enough forMcLloyd Walters, a VIslanderwho lives in East End. Mr. Wal-ters, who runs an engineeringbusiness, said he would like poli-cymakers to take a long-termview of the territory’s employ-ment needs and the current im-balance of VIslanders toexpatriates, who currently makeup about 60 percent of the work-force.

“The question is do we con-tinue … indefinitely — any gov-ernment in the BVI?” he asked.“Does the government recognisethat that situation is probably nota sustainable situation?”Environment

Dr. Pickering added that hisministry is also making a compre-hensive review of the territory’senvironmental management

regime. A draft “biodiversity bill”imposing new regulations, how-ever, will take some more time be-fore it can be considered by theHOA, he said.

The idea is not new. In 2007,the Law Reform Commission rec-ommended that government es-tablish a central environmentalprotection unit and consolidateexisting conservation laws. In sub-sequent Speeches from theThrone, the current and formergovernments both pledged to passcomprehensive environmentalmanagement legislation, but nosuch bill has been tabled.

“It’s certainly something thatI’m working on,” Dr. Pickeringsaid. “In the wider context ofeverything that we’re doing, it willnot be something that I’m goingto put on the back burner.”

Asked to name his ministry’senvironmental accomplishmentsto date, Dr. Pickering mentionedthe Caribbean Challenge Initia-tive, a joint effort between businessgroups, non-profit organisationsand governments.

At a summit co-hosted by theVI government at Necker Islandin May, political leaders pledged toset aside 20 percent of the region’snear-shore environment for con-servation by 2020. By that date, hesaid, the territory could have asmuch as 30 percent of marine andcoastal areas earmarked for con-servation, an action that could re-quire adjustments to the existingnetwork of protected areas.

However, some areas on thenorth shore of Tortola, such asCane Garden Bay and BrewersBay, need more focused attention,according to opposition memberAlvin Christopher (R-D2).

He added that he fears thaterosion will damage the area’scoast, and he has brought the mat-ter up to the Conservation andFisheries Department.

“I took them there on severaloccasions, but so far nothing isbeing done,” Mr. Christopher said.

Mr. Walters, the engineerwho considers himself a commu-nity activist, said he would likeless “lip service” and more actiontaken to clean up trash in com-munities including East End,where he lives.

Environmental considerationsalso remain a focus of the MNRL’sbiggest capital project, the multi-million-dollar runway expansionat the Beef Island airport, Dr.

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Pickering said.Several residents have raised

concerns that the ministry’s plan forthe runway, 2,000 feet of which is tobe built on reclaimed land in TrellisBay, will irrevocably damage thebay’s natural ability to flush itself.

A previous plan to mitigatethe potential environmental dam-age involved placing the runwayon elevated piles, but this measurewas shelved due to cost concerns.

Dr. Pickering said that othermeasures to mitigate the potentialdamage from the extensionhaven’t been fully developed, buta Portuguese engineering firm ishoping to finalise the plans soon.

Paradigm shiftDuring the interview, Dr. Pick-

ering spoke repeatedly of the min-istry’s effects on the wider economy.The NDP generally takes a differentapproach to the economy than itspredecessors, he said.

Government, he explained,should be seen as a facilitator thatallows businesses and individualsto invest rather than the mainprovider of economic activity.

Asked if things were better inthe VI now after two years of theNDP government, Dr. Pickeringasked this reporter to clarifywhether he was asking if thingswere better for “the people” or forthe territory.

“On an individual level, I thinkthat one of the critical issues is that

government for so long has beenthe driver of the economy,” he said.“And the lack of free-flowingmoney in the economy has made itless likely that the individual personcan feel that their lot is better.”

He added that he feels hisgovernment has brought more“stability,” which he said is betterfor the territory.

“The country is stabilising tothe point where the private invest-ment will then start to reveal itselfin a different manner,” he said.“But as it is right now, the free-flowing money that governmentused to have — that used to trickledown, so to speak, to the individual— that money is no longer there.”

Eric Voorhis contributedto this report.

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