Premier’s ministries record nearly $30M in unused funds
Amid the cries for speedy infrastructural upgrades in the territory, it has been revealed that some $30 million allocated to ministries and offices led by the Premier, remained unspent in 2023.
The offices headed by Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley include the Premier’s Office, the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources & Climate Change, Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development, and the Ministry of Finance.
During the question-and-answer segment of the House of Assembly yesterday, Premier Wheatley said just over $97 million was budgeted for these offices in 2023. Of this amount, the Premier said just over $21 million was not spent as of December 31, 2023.
The Premier also said over $13 million was budgeted for capital expenditure (including funds for infrastructure) and just over $8 million remained unspent.
In response to the information from the Premier, D8 Representative Marlon Penn bemoaned the culture of leaving funds unspent while public infrastructure rot in communities across the territory.
“The recurrent has over $21 million unspent, the capital budget has over $8 million unspent — that’s over $29 million that was budgeted to do the people’s work,” Penn stated. “Yet our roads, infrastructure and programmes are still under. What are we doing, Premier, to ensure we don’t have a constant recurrence of this? What are we doing to avoid this level of tardiness in executing the people’s business?”
In response, Premier Wheatley said he wants to see progress and is concerned about the culture of unspent budgetary allocations. He explained that oftentimes, projects that are outlined in the national budget are without the proper planning and, therefore, cannot move forward although funds are there.
“Another reason is that we have to examine the capacity of ministries to be able to deliver certain types of initiatives; for instance, capital projects. To be able to deliver those projects — especially for the ministries outside of Communications & Works — sometimes the capacity just isn’t there,” the Premier explained.
He added that sometimes funds remain unspent because ministries have difficulty hiring staff that was budgeted for. According to the Premier, another reason is because sometimes the revenue needed to carry out projects may not be collected as initially projected.
The territory’s leader explained that to solve the issue of unspent funds, the government is moving to expand the work of the Recovery and Development Agency, so they can focus on delivering critical projects.
However, Penn was not satisfied with these reasons given by the Premier. He said funds were indeed collected, but the projects simply weren’t executed.
“Based on the budget process we just went through, there were no revenue shortfalls so the money was collected, we just didn’t execute. This (nearly $30 million) is just your ministry alone and I’ve asked the same question of all the ministries. We have a systemic problem and the public needs to know the solution to fix this because people are dealing everyday without water, sewerage is running in the streets, and over $29 million from your ministries went back into the treasury,” Penn argued.
In response, Premier Wheatley simply pointed Penn back to his initial response, saying his government is seeking to improve planning in ministries and departments. As part of this planning, the Premier said he has instructed ministries not to recommend projects for the national budget, unless they are prepared and ready to be executed.
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Government uses ACCRUAL accounting; go look it up from making yourself look like a fool or are you trying to make the population look like fools – again. Step down and let Lorna in the corner lead.
Desperate men and women do desperate things, like S!0w W@nde and his A$$ C!0wn Brigade trying to spend money that already spent…etc etc.
THIS DUDE IS A WASTE OF TIME…DOES NOTHING EXCEPT TRAVEL AND RUNNING HIS MOUTH
I am confused to how business is conducted in government.
How does a project without proper planning get outlined in the national budget and somehow budgeted for?
How do you arrive at the figure that is in the budget?
Don’t forget the part where we are now taxed into poverty to pay for these same projects that never see the light of day. This government is USELESS. End of story.
SO LETS GET IT ON / WHO IS REALLY RUNNING THE COUNTRY ? IS IT ON AUTO PILOT ? AS THE BIG MAN FOR THE OPPOSITION SAID ( THE COI IS CAUSING RETARDATION / NOW ME PATHNER CSC WOULD OF HAD SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT , BUT HE TURNED GHOST SO WE FRIG , WE MIGHT AS WELL ENJOY ANOTHER COUPLE OF FREE JAMS FROM OUR NEW COACH AS WE * WATCH HIM WUK * PLAYER PLAYER
He needs to step down. He is worse than his grandfather. For although he didn’t like to spend he looked out for the people. This guy aint ready and people begging to him all the time for things need doing and he goes on like he dont have money. Just a waste and willful.
I think we are beginning to see why the country is in the state that it is in. Leadership matters!!
If you only have completed government financial accounts up to 2016!
Give it to the fishermen and farmers; even though they aren’t fishermen or farmers.
Cant pay ppl their increments, cant fix the roads, cant fix the very gov complex itself. What have you really done this year?
Well that’s all fine and dandy to our esteemed Premier, S!0w W@nde and the A$$ Clown Brigade, but if you haven’t issued audited financial statements since 2016 can you really say this is free cash? How do we know that you didn’t pad last budget figures or ignore provisions for expenditure this period. Hmmm, sounds like a guy strapped for cash and willing to spend cash that is already spent
What a JACK????????
The Minister of Finance need to do a Finance 101 course lol
Albert Einstein was right when he asserted that it is crazy to expect a different outcome from the same old reasoning. We continue to do that in our politics and our Democracy we love to harp about. What sense and reasoning does it make to assign the highest office in the land to a would be politician who hasn’t operated any type of business never owned a business. We can use the word Doctor as much as we want and the results will be the same.
The best defense of Democracy is an Informed electorate; (Voter). How would anyone know what they want or what is good for them if they are not informed? Can uninformed be the proverbial elephant in the room for us in these Virgin Islands? Just wondering. 30 million spent in a population of thirty or forty thousand would make a sizable difference. The results would be very Visible. Money in the bank unspent doesn’t do anything. Its just sitting, its just sitting and sitting doesn’t produce anything. The former premier had promised that he would create a thousand jobs in a thousand days; But it takes money spent by investors or government or other source to create jobs.