Wednesday, December 9 – Acting Premier Honourable Dancia Penn, OBE, QC today presented a $25,000 cheque to Ms. Eileen Frett, a resident of East End, who lost her home in a fire earlier this year.
Today’s presentation came on the heels of a similar one last Thursday in which Mr. Nathaniel Smith received assistance from the government to rebuild his fire damaged home.
In making the presentation, Honourable Penn expressed her delight to be part of a very special occasion. “It is a long standing policy of the government when there is a disaster of any kind, specifically in this instance when there is a fire, to assist persons who sustained the loss by providing a modest sum of money to help the person to rebuild their home,” she stated.
According to the acting premier, the award was $20,000 for many years dating back as far as the 1980s, but it was recently increased by Cabinet based on economic changes experienced since then.
Honourable Penn said the award has been long in coming and explained that the procedures that need to be followed. “That money comes out of a special fund, the Disaster Emergency Fund. The fund has a board, the board evaluates requests, Cabinet then is asked to make a decision and that is what has happened in this case and that is part of the reason it has also taken so long,” she explained.
The acting premier also noted the sustained efforts of Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE to ensure that today’s award was made possible. “I know that he attaches a great deal of importance to matters of this kind and was he in the Territory; he would have wanted to be here as well to be at this very special occasion.”
Minister for Communications and Works, Honourable Julian Fraser, RA was also present at today’s ceremony. In his remarks, Honourable Fraser reiterated government’s commitment to providing assistance to victims of disasters.
Speaking directly to the beneficiary, the minister said, “I want you to know that we support your efforts to get out of this predicament; $25,000 may not seem like much to many people but to someone who is in your situation, I am sure you are grateful.”
As the minister whose portfolio includes the BVI Fire Services Department, Honourable Fraser said, “We will continue to improve our services in order to mitigate any damage. Unfortunately, we were unable to save your property but I am sure we have saved many.”
Like the acting premier, Honourable Fraser made special mention of the unrelenting efforts of Premier O’Neal. “I too want to sing the praises of the premier, who for years has been a proponent of government, whether it is his government or any government; even while we were in the opposition, we fought hard to do as much as we can, even though it may be little in the sight of many, to assist,” he stated.
Receiving the cheque from the acting premier, Ms. Frett expressed deep gratitude. “I am very, very grateful to the BVI Government. I do understand the wait because I work in government; I work in accounts so I know the procedures, so the wait was understandable because everything has to be done right.”
The Government of the Virgin Islands is committed to providing whatever relief is possible to victims of disasters. Assistance is made possible through the Disaster Emergency Fund which was specifically established to fulfil that objective.
British Virgin Islands News