Ignoring VG & Anegada would be the ‘biggest mistake’- Hon Vincent O. Wheatley
He made these comments while giving his contribution to the debate on the Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency Amendment Bill 2026 during the Fifth Sitting of the Third Session of the Fifth House of Assembly (HoA) on July 28, 2026.
The minister said that, in 2019, he made a “clarion call” during the Virgin Islands’ (VI) recovery period following the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria, when he said then that there would be no true recovery in the VI unless there was recovery in the Ninth District.
“I’m going to repeat that clarion call today, that there’d be no true development in the British Virgin Islands unless we have true development in the Ninth District.”
Hon Wheatley said development must be specifically focused on Anegada and Virgin Gorda.
“You can spend all the millions you want in West End and this and that, but if you ever ignore Virgin Gorda and Anegada, the Ninth District, you’re making the biggest mistake this country can make.”
Development should be a whole VI approach
Meanwhile, Premier Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), in his remarks, called Hon Wheatley’s point important.
“We hear concerns about our ‘Sister Islands’, and it’s important that when we talk about development, it’s a whole Virgin Islands approach, not just a Tortola-centric approach.”
He added that major infrastructural challenges facing the VI are acknowledged.
“We can argue about the genesis of those challenges, but what is without a shadow of a doubt is that any sitting government has a responsibility to address those challenges and address them in an expeditious way.”
_(Small).jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
Follow Us On
16 Responses to “Ignoring VG & Anegada would be the ‘biggest mistake’- Hon Vincent O. Wheatley”
Hon O’Neal you barking at RDA or ViDA but I think you barking up the wrong tree..RDA is a construction services supplier. Costokets, Health,,Education, and other agencies procure the funding,etc, and then request services, ie, projects from the RDA. The RDA does not have unlimited staff to deliver all the requested services, it has to prioritize its work..Further, the BVI does not have the construction capacity to put all the work in progress (WIP) at once. Who coordinates capital projects needs for the territorial, including Schematic design , design development, construction documents, contracting & execution,,Delivery method, etc,
One day coming soon