While wrapping up the debate on the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System (Amendment) (No.3) Act, 2019” at the continuation of the Seventh Sitting of the First Session of the Fourth House of Assembly (HoA) today, October 18, 2019, Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) said Rosewood Little Dix Bay agreed to hire that amount of locals.

Hon Fahie was at the time making a point that Virgin Islanders needed to equip themselves with the necessary skills to become gainfully employed in the territory and that Government was trying its best to train and find employment opportunities for them.

Everyone must be working

“We want to make sure every single person in this territory is working,” Hon Fahie said, adding that “We signed someday and helped out with Little Dix that was supposed to open soon and one of the things we dropped down is…there are certain amount of people you have to hire, and they agreed to hire 250 people.”

“So I [am] looking forward to seeing 250 Virgin Islanders inside Little Dix when it opens. And we are going to make sure they are trained,” Hon Fahie added.

According to reports, Rosewood Little Dix Bay will reopen in the first quarter of 2020 and is already taking reservations.

The resort, comprised of 80 new rooms, villas and suites -- including treehouse suites and pool suites -- was opened by Laurance Rockefeller in 1964. Little Dix closed for a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2016, but the planned reopening was delayed by Hurricane Irma, which caused widespread destruction in the territory in September 2017.

Meanwhile, Premier Fahie said the bill entitled ‘Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System (Amendment) (No.3) Act, 2019’ is largely “a tying up exercise to facilitate the Beneficial Ownership Secure System being able to extend to access economic substance information required to be filed with the International Tax Authority.”