Events from the year 2016 in the British Virgin Islands.

Incumbents

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

John Duncan John Duncan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Duncan (painter) (1866–1945), Scottish painter * John Duncan (artist) (born 1953), American artist and musician * Big John Duncan (born 1958), Scottish punk musician * John Duncan (harpist) ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Orlando Smith Daniel Orlando Smith, OBE (born 28 August 1944) is a British Virgin Islands politician and the former Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2011 to 2019 and from 2003 to 2007. He also formerly served as Chief Minister of the British Vir ...

Events

January

* 1 January 2016 - The

National Health Insurance National health insurance (NHI), sometimes called statutory health insurance (SHI), is a system of health insurance that insures a national population against the costs of health care. It may be administered by the public sector, the private sector ...

scheme comes into effect. * 12 January 2016 - Government announces a controversial $7 million investment in startup

BVI Airways BVI Airways is a defunct airline of the British Virgin Islands. Its headquarters were located at its hub at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport serving the territory's main island of Tortola with the capital, Road Town. It suspended int ...

. * 20 January 2016 - The inaugural Virgin Islands General Legal Council is appointed, headed by

Dancia Penn Ruth Dancia Penn, (born 1951) is a British Virgin Islands politician and former Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 20 September 2004 to 1 April 2007. She also formerly served as the Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands ...

QC. * 25 January 2016 - Minister of Works Mark Vanterpool announces that the public pier park project was cost $85 million, more than double the original budget of $35 million.

March

* 19 March 2016 - The BVI is affected by a magnitude 6.0

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

. No major damage is reported.

April

* 3 April 2016 - The

Panama Papers The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...

are published, revealing the previously confidential beneficial owners of a large number of companies incorporated in the Territory.

June

* 23 June 2016 - The

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

adopts the

Virgin Islands pledge The Virgin Islands pledge is a pledge of allegiance to the Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory. It was officially adopted by the territory's House of Assembly on 23 June 2016. It's intended to be commonly recited by Virgin Islanders in ...

July

* 22 July 2016 - It is announced that Elinah Phillip will represent the British Virgin Islands at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, the first time a swimmer has represented the Territory at the games. * 31 July 2016 - Gunfire was shot at or near to the Premier's vehicle; the Premier,

, was not in the vehicle at the time.

August

* 22 August 2016 - Billionaire BVI resident Sir

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

is injured in a serious cycling accident on

Virgin Gorda Virgin Gorda () is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Geography Located at about 18 degrees, 48 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area o ...

. * 25 August 2016 - Five cases of the

Zika virus ''Zika virus'' (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is a member of the virus family ''Flaviviridae''. It is spread by daytime-active ''Aedes'' mosquitoes, such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, whe ...

are confirmed in the Territory as part of a wider global outbreak.

September

* 29 September 2016 - Former Premier

Ralph O'Neal Ralph Telford O'Neal, OBE (15 December 1933 – 11 November 2019) was a British Virgin Islander politician. He was the longest ever serving elected representative in the British Virgin Islands, and served as Chief Minister (when the office was ...

suffers a stroke.

October

* 1 October 2016 - The

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

raised from $4 an hour to $6 an hour. * 17 October 2016 - The

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

rules against HM Customs in a long running dispute with Delta Petroleum.

November

* 28 November 2016 - The National Health Insurance scheme suspends benefits for over 1,000 workers because of their employer's failure to pay contributions. This action is subsequently agreed to be unlawful.

December

* 27 December 2016 - Government awards the contract for the expansion of

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport , previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all ...

China Communications Construction Company China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) is a majority state-owned, publicly traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction and operation of infrastructure assets, including ...

for US$153,432,572.10. It is the largest government contract awarded in the Territory's history, and concerns are expressed about the company's bidding practices.

Footnotes

{{Caribbean topic, 2016 in 2010s in the British Virgin Islands

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