The government’s 2022 Fiscal Budget which is said to be a budget of action and not just talk, was passed through the House of Assembly late Wednesday December 16.
The entire debate process for the Appropriation 2022 Act 2021 was conducted virtually for the first time in the BVI’s history, which according to Deputy Speaker Neville Smith saw eight legislators voting in favour of the budget and four legislators reported absent.
Notably, during the voting process, Opposition legislators Melvin Turnbull, Julian Fraser, Mark Vanterpool and leader Marlon Penn were recorded as absent. Likewise, when the Sixth District Representative Alvera Muduro-Caines was called on to vote, there was no response which presumably indicated she too was absent on voting.
The budget totals $397,179,331 and is the fourth budget to be passed by under the Andrew Fahie led Administration in just three years.
Premier and Minister of Finance Andrew Fahie while wrapping up the budget debate said it was his government’s goal to abide by the constitutional requirements to have all budgets under his Administration passed within the specified timelines.
He said, “Your government vowed from then to ensure that all budget estimates under our watch will remain aligned with the mandates of the Constitution. And let me say that is indeed a challenge over the years to see that done. So, we take pride as a government knowing that we have done so with the 2020 budget. Then those 2020 budget estimates, which was passed in 2019, which was significant, as this meant that we passed two budgets in one year, one in April and the other in December of 2019.”
He added, “That sounds so simple just to say but the volume of work that that entails as they say in, I think in scripture and in a Buju Banton song, “The half has never yet been told.” And for that I truly have to commend the Ministry of Finance team.”
Previous governments passed their budgets late
Premier Fahie said the practice of passing critical bills such as the territory’s fiscal budget was oftentimes passed late in the House of Assembly.
He made specific mention to the previous National Democratic Party Administration, which he said failed to pass the 2019 Budget as required in 2018.
“Really and truly all the budgets belong to government, but this is all fourth in three years although we’ve been there for three years and the first budget was the 2019 Budget Estimates, which were prepared by the former government, but did not move forward through the processes, to be passed by the House of Assembly. And it should have been passed before the end of 2018 constitutionally, but it was not passed then, and that seemed to help in the norm,” Premier Fahie stated.
“Hence this government had to hit the ground running and get the already late budget passed which called for immediate meetings just like what we’re doing here with Standing Finance, before that meetings with your ministry, but the budget was already formed so there was nothing much we could do with that budget. So we didn’t have much time to do so with much changes…Based on the Constitution it should have been passed before the start of the actual budget year. Simply put, the 2019 budget should have been constitutionally being passed in 2018,” the Premier further explained.
Budget of Action and not Talk
The leader of government business further said that the budget presented by his government for the fiscal year of 2022 is a budget of action and not one of just talk.
He said, “While we are speaking about this year’s budget, I want to say that I will be very brief because this is not a budget of talk, this is a budget of action. And over the next few months no matter how much we speak now, within the next few months people will forget if they do not see any action. We’re dealing with high demands and limited resources and yes, there are those who do not want us to remember the challenges that we are faced.”
“And I must say that it’s tempting to respond to a lot of the misinformation that has been disseminated in this budget debate and might I add nothing to do with the budget, just to do with trying to play with the people’s minds. Trying to see things through a negative light. We know that I always say this, that while I respect a person’s point of view, we also know that a lie has speed but truth has endurance,” Premier Fahie stated.
The Appropriation 2022 Act 2021 comes into effect from January 1, 2022.
