The Virgin Islands government is steaming ahead in its effort to strengthen trade and cultural ties with Ghana. Government House announced during a weekly press briefing Monday that the territory will host government officials and private sector partners at a multiday summit titled the Ghana-U. S. Virgin Islands Economic Development Mission.
“This mission is focused on substance,” Government House spokesperson Richard Motta Jr. said. “It is centered on areas where strategic partnership can produce real value for the Virgin Islands, including digital infrastructure, affordable housing, energy, construction, labor, tourism, financial services and cultural exchange.”
Monday’s announcement comes several months after Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. signed a memorandum of understanding with the chief executive of Ghana’s Tourism Authority, Maame Efua Houadjeto. On Monday, V.I. Economic Development Authority CEO Wayne Biggs Jr. said both the U.S. Virgin Islands and Ghanaian economies stand to benefit from the collaboration. Biggs was joined by EDA board chair Kevin Rodriguez, St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce President John Woods, and a delegation including Houadjeto and other representatives from the region’s public and private sectors.
“West Africa is one of Africa’s fastest growing digital economies,” Biggs said. “Their expertise in fiber optic development, fintech platforms and workforce development aligns directly with our priorities here in the territory.”
Biggs said the group is pursuing a memorandum of planning and concrete next steps. Houadjeto said Ghana will bring its music and creative energy to the U.S. Virgin Islands in July.
“This is not just entertainment,” she said. “It is a cultural exchange deepening our cultural diplomacy. It is an opportunity to collaborate … for artists to connect and for audiences to experience the deep, shared roots that bind us together.”
VIEO Announces Relief for People with Medical Conditions
V.I. Energy Office Director Kyle Fleming said Monday that VIEO will provide portable battery backups for medically vulnerable residents as part of a “targeted, people-first initiative designed to deliver immediate energy relief to residents who need it most.”
“For our medically vulnerable, our seniors, our residents living with disabilities, access to reliable electricity can mean the difference between stability and crisis,” Fleming said, noting that the issue becomes even more urgent during the summer with the threat of hurricanes, tropical storms and the additional strain placed on the V.I. Water and Power Authority. “This is a period where outages become more frequent, restoration timelines can stretch and the consequences for vulnerable households are at their highest.”
Through the Virgin Islands Resiliency Gateway program, Fleming said VIEO will deploy portable “plug and play” battery systems to qualifying residents, allowing them to power essential appliances and medical equipment during protracted outages. Fleming said the Energy Office is finalizing eligibility prerequisites with the Human Services Department and that they anticipate distributing approximately 900 battery units throughout the territory.
The initiative is being funded through the U.S. Energy Department.
Gov’t House Responds to VIHFA Audit
Motta struck an optimistic tone on the heels of a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Inspector General audit that painted a bleak portrait of the V.I. Housing Finance Authority’s ability to identify and combat fraud.
“There’s an important point that I want to make: I think the general consensus is that these audits are somewhat harmful or damaging to the reputations of these agencies,” he said Monday. “And actually, it’s quite the contrary. These audits are actually helpful because it exposes vulnerabilities and it gives the agencies the opportunity to course correct or strengthen the controls that they have in place.”
Motta added that VIHFA has already implemented some recommended improvements but said it wouldn’t be prudent to apply the audit’s findings to other government agencies responsible for federal dollars.
“While most agencies handle … federal funds through the different grant programs, they’re not all created the same,” he said. “And so I wouldn’t recommend that, and I don’t think that that would be a prudent practice. But in general, I mean, yes, you always want to make sure that procurement practices are tightened, and then those controls — that’s done on a case-by-case basis, and pretty frequently.”
