Mapp Paints Hopeful Picture For USVI During SoTA; Asks For Four More Years
- Ernice Gilbert
- January 23, 2018
ST. THOMAS -- It was his fourth State of the Territory Address (SoTA) before the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands, one that political observers deemed his most consequential before facing reelection in November. During the address, Governor Kenneth Mapp -- standing before a packed room of senators and government officials at the Earl B. Ottley Legislature -- delivered an hourslong speech that he hoped would spark optimism in the hearts of residents of the territory, as he spoke on healthcare, the Government Employees Retirement System (G.E.R.S.), funding for the recovery of the territory following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the expansion of the Limetree Bay Terminals for an additional storage capacity of 15 million barrels of oil, education, road construction, housing and, in closing, asking the people of the territory for four more years in office to finish what he started. "The state of our territory is good, it is hopeful. But the demands and burdens on our shoulders are heavy. If ...