USVI gets $27M from America to improve internet infrastructure
Amid local complaints that the United States treats the neighbouring US Virgin Islands (USVI) better than the United Kingdom treats the BVI, the USVI is set to receive some $27 million to deploy affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service throughout the territory.
The funds will be given through the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA). It will help some 577 homes and small businesses in US Virgin Islands that lack access to a high-speed internet connection.
The funds are part of the “Internet for All” initiative — a key component of President Joe Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda.
“President Biden has been clear that everyone deserves access to affordable and reliable high-speed Internet,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “With this funding, more US Virgin Islanders will be able to connect to the resources they need to thrive in the 21st century economy.”
Meanwhile, BVIslanders continue to bemoan the sometimes unreliable internet service offered by local telecoms providers. Like most other public infrastructure, internet services were challneged after the passage of the 2017 huricanes.
In recent weeks, the matter of America continously offering financial support to the USVI has been brought to the fore here in the BVI. Public figures bemoan what they deem inadequate support from the United Kingdom government. Recently, Third District Representative Julian Fraser scoffed at the United Kingdom’s lack of monetary support for the BVI’s mission to rebuild critical infrastructure destroyed by the three disasters of 2017.
Premier Natalio Wheatley has stated that he will be borrowing funds to upgrade the BVI, as there’s no other way to deliver infrastructural upgrades without loans. However, he has assured that he will borrow responsibly. The UK had offered the BVI a £300 million loan guarantee but the former Fahie administration rejected the offer.
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but not uncle Tom
And the bvi gets a wicked racist coi from uk
yes but as a US citizen you can move and work in the USVI freely, you cannot if you come from the UK. Quite simple really why the BVI is not treated in the same way as the USVI via USA or even St Maarten and St Martin via Netherlands and France.
UK could always sell the Virgin Islands(British) to the USA. In 1917 Denmark sold their Virgin Islands to the USA for 25 million US dollars in gold. UK could do the same today.
I guess as a first stage, folks in BVI could pay equivalent rates of tax to the people in the UK, and then perhaps the people of the UK wouldn’t object to providing more hand-outs. How do those apples sound?
Is the relationship between the BVI and the UK as good as that between the USA & USVI? Why hasn’t the OT’s agitated for more representation in the House of Parliament? If my son/daughter is of working age and capable of being self-sufficient; yet is disrespectful toward me at every opportunity- should I bend over backwards every time he/she demands I support their nonsense? We (OT’s) have never really tried to mend the acrimonious relationship and exploit the relationship with the UK to our benefits.
Slavery is long gone yet we are still living with that mentality. We should refocus our collective efforts with a view to improving our relations in a way that benefits the OT’s.
Our government super power is spending millions and not having anything to show for it even if England gave us 27 million we gonna just throw it away tbh.
How about you pay us down here what you get for minimum wage in the UK then we can talk.
AM AFRAID THAT DUDE ON THE YELLOW SITE AND BLONDE WIG REFUSES TO OVERSTAND THST MESSAGE , ( THAT SQUARE HEAD DUDE IS HOLDING ON IT LIKE AN OCTOPUS AND HE THINKS HE DISCOVERED RACISM & COLONIALISM , SO HE WRITES AND BLOGGS HIS OWN WRITING USING ALL KINDS OF FANCY AND WEIRD NAMES TO SPEW OUT HIS SH*T DAY AND NIGHT ,THAT WIG WENT STRAIGHT TO HIS HEAD REAL PAPPY SHOW ? , IF YOU ASK ME , HE HE HE
Exactly! US VI legal residents and US citizens are required to file an annual income tax return, and pay however much they are calculated to owe. As Al Capone could have told you, there are sever penalties for not doing so. Meanwhile in the BVI, one reads stories of employers fraudulently withholding employee tax contributions and not forwarding to the appropriate agencies. Or, of govt sanctioned projects with tens of millions of tax payer monies missing.
Why on Earth would the USA want to buy the BVI?
You can’t really compare usvi relationship with usa to bvi and England. Usvi citizens have the same minimum wage as the us and use the same money. Usvi people are us citizens, free to travel back and forth as they please, usvi citizens DO NOT pay federal taxes, one of the reasons why they don’t vote in president (federal) elections. But the usvi is the USA, not very different from a state.
@ Fix?:
The problem is that the BVI’s political class have not sincerely attempted to patch the relationship with the UK. The political
Class and their beneficiaries want to keep the relationship between tans the UK as a divisive topic to continue the status quo of the 1%’ers here. Fact is that we never truly have tried to exploit food worki f relations with #10 et.al. Rather, we spew hatred and then behind closed doors ‘try’ to get concessions. Our negotiating skills suck plain and simple. We look like amateurs playing on the big boys stage. Hence the dire lack of infrastructural development and further progression of our economy. We lack basic infrastructure as what we have is bursting at the seams. I do hope that we have not lost significant opportunities because of shooting ourselves in the foot!
Couple of corrections. One, USVI residents pay taxes at the Federal rate locally, so they pay same as on mainland, only they file their return on island. Two, self employed persons in the UVI have to also pay their contribution of Social Security tax, requiring filing with mainland US IRS.
Yes, social security. No direct federal taxes. I have worked and filed taxes in the usvi.
There are probably more benefits to joining the USVI/USA than to remain with the UK. Example, more of our crooked politicians would be in jail. That alone is reason enough.
What we need is to have the UK put it to the USA, and then we in BVI hold a referendum vote on the matter.