LOCAL NEWS
Prince Andrew shakes hands with member of the Vestry - St. George’s
Church - Tortola, Mr. Audley Maduro [photo by Peggy Carney]
Governor Says Duke's Visit Was Successful
His Excellency Governor Frank Savage has commended the Royal Visit Planning Committee for a job well done in preparing and executing the programme for the visit of His Royal Highness The Duke of York from March 10th-13th, 2000. He held a press conference at his office Tuesday afternoon to provide feedback to the media and the public on the visit. "I congratulated them on everything that went right. We have gone through the programme, we have looked at where we could make improvements for the next visit." He also thanked and congratulated members of the media for their participation in the visit a paid particular tribute to the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force for successfully executing a very substantial operational plan for the visit.
According to the Governor, it's important for the present generation of public servants who worked on this programme to preserve their records and to note where it was possible to do better. He said the effort put into this programme would do them well in the future. "His Royal Highness was extremely pleased with the way the visit went. He had not visited the British Virgin Islands before. He had a good opportunity over the three days he was here to see quite a lot of the territory," Governor Savage reported. He said the objectives of the Royal visit were to expose HRH to as many persons in the territory as possible and also to discuss with him the issues facing a modern British Virgin Islands. "I estimate that he probably shook hands with something like 750 people while he was here and a further 1500 people were in very proximity to him during the visit," His Excellency noted. He said the visit was relaxed, it was happy, HRH clearly enjoyed meeting the people and he had a nice rapport with the people of the British Virgin Islands. According to the Governor, the programme could not have been any fuller. The Duke reportedly carried out 18 engagements and still found time to have a few hours off to see the beauty of the territory.
"We tried in the visit to concentrate on some of the issues facing the territory...we wanted him to be aware of issues such as our concern for financial services and various international initiatives going on, we wanted him to meet as many of our youth as possible...and we wanted to show the link between youth and the environment," the Governor told Reporters Tuesday. The BVI High School Band came in for much commendation from His Royal Highness, who reportedly said he had never seen an orchestra like that anywhere in the U.K. While here, he handed over a cheque for U.S$40,000 to the National Parks Trust for the establishment of a youth environmental service.
His Excellency said this is a very exciting project, one that is really still in its formulation stage. But he said between the Governor's Office, the NPT and the Chief Education Officer, a programme will be put together that will be of long-term benefit to the BVI. This is expected to pilot project for other British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. The proposal, as put forward by the Governor, could see sixth formers and youths spending the first two years out of College giving two years of their time to a youth organization which works closely or even predominantly on the environment. "This country is their future and they need to get involved at a very early stage and I'm sure that they will respond very enthusiastically." "He also (The Duke), because he is a serving Royal Naval Officer, he was very keen to know our problems on law and order and particularly drug interdiction," he continued. Governor Savage said the Duke commented favourably on each and every engagement he carried out and the territory should be proud of the arrangements that were made. "I don't think they were overly arranged, I don't think it was overly prepared, I think that there was the right degree of informality, which clearly suited his style." In terms of how Royal visits come about, Governor Savage noted that in many ways, "it's a chicken and egg situation." He said it could be an initiative from the territory itself, but there is a committee in London which decides which member of the Royal family will go where around the world. As Governor, he had hosted a visit by His Royal Highness and saw at first hand the benefits of such a visit. He said mindful of the fact that we have a White Paper which sets out a new partnership, he had, since his arrival, been pressing for such a visit. "Locally, it's open to the government of the territory to request a visit and in this case, that's how it happened," His Excellency revealed. He said while there is not likely to be any major immediate impact as a result of this visit, there is clearly value in having powerful friends in the U.K who can argue behind the scenes.
"Members of the Royal family are influential with politicians and I hope that in some of these areas, on his return, the discussions he will have will lead to further assistance." Governor Savage said he would also like to see senior British politicians coming here. "I would be very pleased if the Prime Minister was to come but we all have to understand what an extremely busy man he is." His Excellency noted however, that Caribbean issues are becoming more important in the U.K. The Overseas Territories are reportedly to be invited to "U.K Caribbean 2000", a forum that will meet in the U.K in May of this year. It will be chaired by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister will host a reception, at which the BVI will be represented. The BVI Governor said he has suggested that some senior politicians might want to spend their holidays in the British Virgin Islands, rather than in Europe and he continues to press that. "I'm very hopeful that Baroness Scotland, the Minister with responsibility for the Overseas Territories, will visit the BVI in the not-too-distant future.