"The light that comes from wisdom never goes out"
The House of Assembly passed the 2025 budget with amendments on Dec. 19 after a lengthy debate over two days that touched on the economy, infrastructure, healthcare, the minimum wage …
Continue reading “Economy takes centre stage at budget debate”
A $100 million loan and expected tourism growth will mean the Virgin Islands can push ahead next year with long-delayed infrastructure works and other projects that will stimulate the economy, …
Continue reading “Boosted by $100m loan, budget nears half-billion”
In the 2024 Budget Address last November, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley announced a Cabinet decision to include about $10 million in this year’s budget to ensure that all public …
Courts, pensions, resources for the opposition, roadworks and other infrastructure, healthcare, the airport expansion project, housing costs and more were debated for nearly two days before the House of Assembly …
Legislators celebrated the allocation of funds to several delayed capital projects before passing the 2023 budget on Dec. 21, but they also called attention to other stalled work and took …
Though the Virgin Islands’ 2022 fiscal policy was overshadowed by global economic crises and the lingering effects of the pandemic, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” painted an optimistic picture of a …
After spending nearly seven hours in closed-door committee on Tuesday, the House of Assembly unanimously passed a motion approving a schedule of additional provisions, freeing up almost $12.6 million in …
Continue reading “House of Assembly approves $12.6 million in spending variations”
After spending nearly seven hours in closed-door committee on Tuesday, the House of Assembly passed a motion approving a Schedule of Additional Provisions on Tuesday with a unanimous vote, freeing …
Continue reading “HOA okays $31 million in spending variations”
Unanticipated expenses including security, arbitration, infrastructure, and public servant increments required legislators to approve supplementary spending for 2021 and 2022, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said on May 26 in …
Continue reading “House of Assembly green-lights 2021 supplementary spending”
After more than twelve hours of debate over two days, the House of Assembly on Dec. 15 passed a nearly $400 million budget for 2022, with almost $337 million put …
Continue reading “Government passes nearly $400 million 2022 budget”
Two contrasting pictures of the territory’s economic future emerged during the budget debate this week in the House of Assembly. Government legislators described 2021 as a successful year despite the …
Continue reading “Government aims for growth in 2022 budget”
Following another year of economic struggles amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Premier Andrew Fahie promised a brighter 2022 during his budget address on Nov. 11. Government, he said, hopes to tap …
While lawmakers were working recently to avoid pandemic-related deficit spending, they saw some “interesting things” in the budget because of spending that was not “mindful,” Premier Andrew Fahie said in …
Continue reading “HOA okays almost $50m in spending changes”
Legislators have often discussed the financial hardship caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but they hashed out some of the details during last week’s House of Assembly sitting. The territory was …
Continue reading “Government saw $30 million revenue shortfall during 2020”
Nine resolutions recently approved by the House of Assembly appeared in the Gazette on Oct. 7, finalising an array of HOA decisions such as the addition of millions of dollars …
Continue reading “Budget additions, stamp duty waiver affirmed”
Because of government revenue losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, the House of Assembly recently decided to adjust the 2020 budget, approving $77 million in extra spending and shuffling tens of …
The opposition gave a press conference on Monday in which they criticised the fact that the budget debate on Friday initially proceeded without most opposition members present, although it later …
On Friday members of the House of Assembly passed a $414 million budget following a lengthy debate over the Appropriations Act 2020. Throughout the debate, nearly every member stressed the …
The Virgin Islands Festivals and Fairs Committee started out the year with a budget of $710,000, which later was upped to $1.3 million before expenditures ultimately topped $1.9 million, according …
Continue reading “$710k festivals budget ballooned to $1.9 million in spending”
The House of Assembly passed a $427,657,383 budget on Friday after two days of debate. The Appropriation Act 2019 “is now in its final stage before it can be fully …
Premier Andrew Fahie said that the 2019 budget, which he detailed at the House of Assembly on Tuesday, mainly reflects the past administration’s efforts but that his government was able …
House of Assembly lawmakers unanimously passed the 2018 Appropriation Act on Friday, budgeting for a deficit for the first time in recent memory. The budget passed with amendments, and though …