St. Thomas – Amid a great deal of controversy and questions concerning the Governor’s recent trip to Ghana, West Africa, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. led the Press Briefing at Government House St. Thomas on Monday December 8, 2025.
“When I travelled to Accra, I did not go as a tourist, I went as Governor, carrying the hopes of a small territory…I was also carrying the memory of our ancestors whose journeys began in West Africa,” the Governor said. “It was an economic journey, a technological journey, a tourism and trade journey. And it was in a very real way a spiritual journey of reconnection,” he went on. “This journey was about making sure the Virgin Islands is ready to step into new lanes of opportunity, not just watching from the sidelines.”
The Governor stated that his visit to Ghana opened new doors for trade with the West African nation, new tourism initiatives, and discussions involving teacher exchanges, nursing recruitment and culinary partnerships.
“Standing in Ghana as a Black Governor of a small Caribbean Territory was truly humbling,” Governor Bryan said as he reflected on the historic connection between Ghana and the Caribbean during the era that involved the trafficking of enslaved people. “I follow a path first cleared by Virgin Islanders like Edward Wilmouth Blyden, who is considered the father of Pan Africanism.”
The Governor said he viewed his visit as part of a long tradition of Virgin Islanders engaging with the African diaspora.
Still, his upbeat summation of the trip comes amidst a rising tide of controversy by many sectors of the Territory, including the media and influential business leaders, given the current weak economic conditions facing many Virgin Islands businesses, particularly on the island of St. Croix. Questions have been raised as to the purpose of the trip, the huge cost, and the makeup of the delegation that was picked to make the costly week-long journey to West Africa.
The Governor himself acknowledged the trip’s price tag which prompted him to cut back on the number of travelers, including his own security detail. “A lot of people asked to go, but it was too expensive,” he said. “This was a business trip. It was meetings every single day.”
Governor Bryan answered criticisms that the trip was unnecessary or of a recreational nature, by saying that critics were overlooking the deeper economic rationale and ignoring the important precedent the trip set for future economic and cultural gains.
“Nobody asked the same questions when Governors traveled to Denmark. We have gotten nothing from Denmark. But we have real opportunities with Ghana,” he replied to the critics.
“This is just the beginning stages,” the Governor summed up his feelings on the trip. “I want something established with them so we can ensure that the next Governor continues this, because it is important for the Virgin Islands to finally reflect our African heritage in our modern day culture – more than dancing the bamboula.”
During the Press Briefing, the Governor thanked the 36th Legislature for passing three major bills: one involving a partnership to redevelop the Crown Bay waterfront on St. Thomas, another bill on solar-battery storage authorization, and a final bill dealing with new hotel financing tools.But the unprecedented, controversial trip to West Africa seemed to take center stage at the Press Briefing. It comes at a time when Governor Bryan is about to serve out his last full year in office as Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. With the election for Governor and Senators less than a year away in November 2026, it would seem that under the current unsettling political climate that has rocked the Bryan-Roach Administration with scandals of magnitude proportions, voters may very well be looking to seek out new leadership that differs greatly from years past.
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