Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) signed a contract yesterday morning, September 9, 2021, for just over $411,000 with Cable and Wireless BVI Ltd to rebuild the backbone surveillance infrastructure destroyed during the hurricanes of 2017.

Works will commence shortly to install a dedicated fiber network for the system through the territory, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) stated in a press release today, September 10, 2021.

It said with the level of importance Government has placed on this restoration project, funding was secured through the Caribbean Development Bank and matched with funds from its capital expenditures to expand on previous surveillance system, providing a more reliable, resilient coverage and less vulnerable to disaster.

Country Manager of Flow BVI, Ravindra Maywahlall signed the contract on behalf of Flow, while Director of Projects Dr Drexel M. Glasgow, Premier’s Political Advisor Kevin C. Smith and Flow Corporate Sales Manager Marlon Solomon witnessed the signatures.

Present at the short ceremony were also the Acting Commissioner of Police Jacqueline E. Vanterpool, Acting Deputy Secretary in Deputy Governor’s Office Aisha Hill and the RVIPF Systems Manager Sergeant Claude Rymer.

Seated from Left: Flow Corporate Sales Manager Marlon Solomon, Country Manager of Flow Ravindra Maywahlall, Premier’s Ministerial Advisor Kevin C. Smith and Premier and Minister of Finance Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) at the contract signing to rebuild the CCTV network destroyed during the hurricanes of 2017. Standing is Director of Projects Dr Drexel M. Glasgow.

CCTV will also capture indiscriminate dumping- Premier

The Premier noted that while the project is very important to the work of security around the territory and specifically to Royal Virgin Islands Police Force’s crime detection efforts, he sees tremendous benefits for neighbourhood watch groups and for detecting and deterring indiscriminate dumping of waste in and around the Territory.

“From District 1 to 9, we see stoves even refrigerators outside bins. Persons would never know how many times Government has clean up around these dumps. It is only a minority of persons that are guilty of this, but it is a growing trend and it reflects badly on all of us. This (project) will help us tremendously in identifying the culprits,” the Premier said

He added that a cleaner, fresher, safety environment translates to a more prosperous economy, happier residents and more attractive to visitors.

Flow’s Country Manager as well as Acting Commissioner Jacqueline E. Vanterpool both shared their gratitude at being a part of this significant milestone.

Once completed, the new CCTV surveillance system is expected to provide the critical support to the efforts of law enforcement in detecting and preventing crime.