Got TIPS or BREAKING NEWS? Please call 1-284-442-8000 direct/can also WhatsApp same number or Email ALL news to:newsvino@outlook.com;                               ads call 1-284-440-6666

Gov’t officers to use Social Network to save money when overseas

- According to Reynell J. Turnbull, Telephone Services Manager @ Government Telephone Services, during the Standing Finance Committee 2017 deliberation of the Budget
The Telephone Services Management Unit (TSMU) is responsible for all phones, both landline and cellular, within Government. They also are responsible for receiving and paying water, electricity and telephone bills for all government departments, including the sister islands, through a centralised system. Photo: VINO/File
The Virgin Islands Government has come up with creative ways of saving money on telephone calls- by using social media when overseas. Photo: Internet Source
The Virgin Islands Government has come up with creative ways of saving money on telephone calls- by using social media when overseas. Photo: Internet Source
ROAD TOWN, Tortola VI- The Government of the Virgin Islands is always criticised for its reckless spending and lack of financial accountability. Even the United Kingdom appointed Governor John S. Duncan OBE has gone public on the careless spending and the lack of priorities in spending decisions and practice.

However, all is not lost as the Administration has come up with creative ways of saving money on telephone calls- by using social medium.

During the 2017 Standing Finance Committee (SFC) deliberations on the Budget, Mr Reynell J. Turnbull, the Telephone Services Manager, at the Telephone Services Management Unit told the Committee that government has set up a new system called Virtual Private Network (VPN) on government Officers’ cellular phones to provide access to their extension and eliminate roaming charges when they are travelling overseas.

Mr Turnbull was being questioned at the time by former Opposition Leader and Third District Representative Hon Julian Fraser RA, as to whether the Government had embraced the new modern methods of communication such as WhatsApp, Face Time and Skype.

In addition, the Telephone Services Manager told the Committee of the whole House that he also “was hoping to install an application thus enabling the phone system to operate similar to Skype.”

More money saved on Communication methods

In also trying to save money, the Communications and Works Minister Hon Mark H. Vanterpool (R4) announced to the SFC that Government has upgraded from Nortel to Cisco and that this has resulted in saving millions. Minister Vanterpool commended the Telephone Services Management Unit staff for their job performance.

The Telephone Services Management Unit (TSMU) is responsible for all phones, both landline and cellular, within Government. They also are responsible for receiving and paying water, electricity and telephone bills for all government departments, including the sister islands, through a centralised system, according to Mr Turnbull.

The TSMU falls under the Ministry of Communications and Works.

6 Responses to “Gov’t officers to use Social Network to save money when overseas”



Create a comment


Create a comment

Disclaimer: Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) welcomes your thoughts, feedback, views, bloggs and opinions. However, by posting a blogg you are agreeing to post comments or bloggs that are relevant to the topic, and that are not defamatory, liable, obscene, racist, abusive, sexist, anti-Semitic, threatening, hateful or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be excluded permanently from making contributions. Please view our declaimer above this article. We thank you in advance for complying with VINO's policy.

Follow Us On

Disclaimer: All comments posted on Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) are the sole views and opinions of the commentators and or bloggers and do not in anyway represent the views and opinions of the Board of Directors, Management and Staff of Virgin Islands News Online and its parent company.