Premier: ‘Migration’ key to economic and population growth

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has emphasised that economic growth in the Virgin Islands is directly tied to population growth, which will largely depend on migration.

During a press conference on Tuesday, November 26, Dr Wheatley explained that clear policies are needed, particularly through the new Labour Management System (LMS), to support this goal. “If you’re going to grow the population and you want to be able to attract investment, you have to have the policies in place to make that a reality,” Dr Wheatley stated.

He also pointed to the territory’s limited workforce, stressing that other regions like Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands had successfully grown their populations by enhancing their tourism sectors. “We know that we have a limited workforce here and with the growth that we anticipate in our economy in the area of tourism, we have more visitors here then we’re going to need more people to facilitate them,” he said. The Premier explained that with fewer births in the territory, migration will be key to addressing population needs. “If you want to grow your population it’s going to be through migration,” Wheatley added. “Our population has to increase to accommodate the growth of our economy and everybody needs to accept that.”