Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Premier Orders All Ministers To Hold Office Hours On Sister Islands

Premier Orders All Ministers To Hold Office Hours On Sister Islands

Residents of the sister islands will soon be getting more from their elected officials as Premier and Minister for Finance Hon. Andrew Fahie has ordered all ministers of his administration to hold monthly office hours on the three sister islands.
Premier Fahie was at the time addressing the myriad of challenges that residents of these islands face when trying to get business done on the main island of Tortola.

“So we will have more of our Tortola people coming, and the Deputy Governor and his Permanent Secretary will announce the time scale when all of them are coming over, and every minister and junior ministers have to hold office hours once a month over here, compulsory, including myself,” he said on Tuesday 9th February 2021 during the handover and rededication ceremony of the John E. George Administration Building in North Sound, Virgin Gorda.

The Premier added, “Starting from March, you check and let me know which minister didn’t get over here, including myself, because we are conscious that the people need service.”

He then explained that after travelling from the sister islands to do business, some workers at some government offices and banks are not sensitive and accessible to these persons.

“It’s not easy for Virgin Gordians, Anegadians, Jost Van Dyke people to know that you want to pay a bill with government or register to do things with government and know you have to get up early and catch a ferry, reach Tortola and then some of you have to take a taxi and then you need to get something to eat because sometimes you leave so early you didn’t get something to eat, and then you go to the government facility, to find out that the person who is dealing with it is either out sick, on lunch or in a meeting,” he said.

The Premier said sometimes these residents are told to return the next day and are unable to get their business done.

He said discussions are underway with the banks to also make a special line for these persons.

“When you living on Tortola, ‘come back tomorrow’ is easy and I am asking all the officers and the banks to be more sensitive, and all the other organisations in Tortola to be more sensitive to the sister islands brothers and sisters.

I told persons one of the times we have to do in the public service is take up some of them and have them work on the sister islands for a month and let them catch the boat and go over, and catch the boat and then come back in the afternoons.

Then is when some of them, not all of them, the majority has the goodness of their hearts to deal with the people of the sister islands, but then there are those few who don’t understand that time is valuable, more valuable to sister islands persons than it is for people on Tortola,” the Premier explained.

He added, “I pray that those persons who work in these department, in these ministries would understand the need to make sure that they are more accessible to the people of the sister islands. I always tell people wrong cannot be right, and right cannot be wrong.”

The Leader of Government’s business said the days of ‘bad treatment’ for these residents is coming to an end as the Government is on the verge of passing a slew of e-legislation to make doing business virtually at the fingertips of residents.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×