Governor Daniel Pruce assented the Crown Lands Management Act, 2024 on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Photo: Facebook

The Public Assistance (Amendment) Act, 2024, recently assented by Governor Daniel Pruce, seeks to update the 2013 Act by creating a comprehensive range of assistance including basic income grants, hardship allowances and shock response grants. Photo: GIS

Governor Pruce assented to the Crown Lands Management Act, 2024 on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, and the Public Assistance (Amendment) Act, 2024 last week.

Crown Lands Management Act, 2024

The Crown Lands Management Act, 2024 sets out the criteria and processes for the disposal and leasing of Crown Lands. This will help ensure decisions are subject to an open and transparent process.

The Act fulfils the COI recommendation (B30) responding to Review on Crown Lands published in January 2023.

“Land ownership holds great significance to most people, and by enhancing the management of public lands, we endeavour to facilitate sustainable development across residential, commercial and agricultural sectors,” then-acting premier Hon Kye M. Rymer (R5) said when introducing the bill for its second reading on May 28, 2024.

“Our objective is not only to spur economic growth but also to safeguard our environment and promote social stability. Furthermore, this bill places a heightened responsibility on our government to judicially manage our public infrastructure. Those would include, at times, roads and sidewalks,” Hon Rymer stated.

Some of the key components of the Crown Lands Management Bill include sustainability, affordability, suitability of lands for development, eligibility criteria and responsible management. The Bill also mandates the establishment of a periodic Land Use Plan, which will help shape the future of land allocation, planned communities, and mitigate the adverse impacts of unsuitable development.

Public Assistance (Amendment) Act, 2024

The Public Assistance (Amendment) Act, 2024 seeks to update the 2013 Act by creating a comprehensive range of assistance including basic income grants, hardship allowances and shock response grants.

Governor Daniel Pruce said “This is a big step forward towards supporting the most vulnerable people in the Virgin Islands. It also represents a vast improvement to the previous grants systems and goes toward addressing the COI recommendation to reform legislation to allow a fairer more equitable system.”

Governor Pruce continued, ”I welcome Cabinet’s commitment to continue to improve legislation in this area so it meets international best practice as well as introduce a wider Social Protection system based on the UNICEF and Social Policy Research Institute Review of 2022. A modern welfare system should benefit the people of the Virgin Islands for many years to come.”

Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9), Minister for Health and Social Development said: “The recent changes to the Public Assistance Act will revolutionise the way we provide social assistance in our community. These amendments will allow us to better support and serve the most vulnerable members of our population. As Minister of Health and Social Development, I with the support of my team, remain committed to championing unified social protection services as we strive towards a future that's more inclusive, resilient, responsive and full of hope.”