BVI’s recurrent expenditure is too high, Premier says
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has conceded that the BVI’s recurrent expenditure is too high.
During his wrap-up of the 2025 budget debate in the House of Assembly, the Premier acknowledged the challenges posed by the current fiscal situation but stressed the need for revenue generation and a more balanced budgeting approach.
“Our recurrent expenditure is too high, too high a percentage of the overall budget,” Premier Wheatley stated. He explained that recurrent expenditure, which covers the day-to-day operations of government, has outpaced revenue in recent years. This imbalance has required the government to tap into the Consolidated Fund to bridge the gap.
Premier Wheatley clarified that the Consolidated Fund consists of unspent revenue from previous years, which is now being used to fund parts of the 2025 budget. “Persons should know that that money in the Consolidated Fund was unspent funds from the year before. So that is essentially revenue,” he said.
Increasing revenue, reducing dependency
The Premier noted that increasing revenue and reducing dependency on recurrent expenditure would be key goals moving forward. “There are things that we have to do to ensure that we raise more revenue and that we can fund more of our capital projects out of our recurrent surplus,” he said.
This issue of recurrent expenditure is not new to the territory. Despite Opposition criticisms, Premier Wheatley pointed out that deficit spending was a common practice under previous administrations.
“When the National Democratic Party government was in power between 2011 and 2019, just about every budget had deficit spending,” he stated.
The Premier’s comments come amid ongoing concerns about the efficiency of public spending in the BVI. The government plans to address these concerns in the 2025 budget by focusing on infrastructural development and creating a more streamlined procurement process.
The Premier emphasised, “Execution is key. We don’t want all of that money going back into the treasury. We want that budget to be spent.”
Despite these challenges, Premier Wheatley expressed optimism about the territory’s economic prospects. He cited a robust Gross Domestic Product growth trend, with projections indicating further increases in 2025.
“The Virgin Islands faces great prospects,” he said. “We have been blessed tremendously.”
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Premier Wheatley’s acknowledgment of high recurrent expenditure is too little, too late. His administration’s failure to establish a government pension plan for civil servants is a damning indictment of his lack of vision and leadership. Forcing pensions into the annual budget has created a fiscal black hole that grows larger every year, robbing the territory of the funds needed for critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
This crisis is not just a numbers game—it is a reflection of an inept administration that refuses to prioritize the long-term well-being of the Virgin Islands. Instead of tackling inefficiencies, cutting waste, and making hard choices, Premier Wheatley offers excuses, platitudes, and empty promises. His reliance on the Consolidated Fund to plug deficits is not a solution; it is a ticking time bomb that will eventually explode, leaving the territory in an even worse position.
The Premier must stop the deflection and address the real issues: establish a government pension fund, overhaul inefficient operations, and implement bold, innovative revenue-generating measures. Without decisive action, his administration will go down in history as one that presided over financial chaos and squandered the opportunities of a growing economy. The people of the BVI deserve better than this failure of leadership.
The idea that unspent budget from a previous year is income in the current year is novel!
I laughed
You are 100% correct. He also needs to grow a pair and deal with the bloated public service: politically unpopular, but crucial to the future.
Fair to say that the current state of affairs was not created solely by the current administration. There have been decades of poor planning and wasted public funds as a result of the misguided notion that becoming a politician is the road to riches. That said, the captain’s in charge of the ship whether he built it or not, and right now the ship is foundering in uncharted waters with a poorly trained dissenting crew and no defined destination.
the reality is that it has becoming worse
Isn’t he the minister of finance? This dude is really off the rockers. He increased the recurrent expenditure by over 20M for salary increases without any plans to raise revenue to pay for it. He borrowed 100M without any revenue raising plan to help service the loan. He continues to hire his friends and political cronies as consultants. He continues to spend on parties. Every government minister drives a government vehicle. He alone has at least three government vehicles for himself. What does he expect?
I agree with premier Wheatley that recurrent expenditure too high in the BVI, for example vybz Kartel charge the BVI tax payers too much a bloody quarter million dollars and the recurring parties and travel thus hurt some tax payers head, oops! My bad I am the so call minister of finance that authorized the payments, and even caused a $20 million dollars on the budget be ause I am not a finance person, am only holding onto the power ministries, come to think of it am holding on to power, it’s great because I get to travel and meety white colonial bosses for instructions.
do you have the courage to trim the fat from our bloated system, everyone knows we have too many getting paid to do nothing much
you say this bot flaunt money at every party event. you pushed for music fest and now sponsored a man who refer to himself as Kartel to come and sing to the youths. it looks like to me that we got money just spending strupid
The minister of finance should resign.
LEARN SENSE PREMIER