2019 Budget Passed by the House of Assembly

On April 26, following two days of debates, the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands has passed the budget 2019 with amendments; legally titled the Appropriation Act 2019, it has retroactively come into force on January 1, 2019.

The largest share of the budget is reportedly given to the Ministry of Health & Social Development. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries & Agriculture is the one to receive the second largest share, followed by the Ministry of Transportation, Works & Utilities.

The fourth most significant share of the budget was received by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Natural Resources, and the fifth one was received by the Ministry of Labour & Immigration.

BVI Government investing into BVI Health Services Authority

The new Premier and Minister of Finance Andrew Fahie made the announcement during the budget address in the House of Assembly that BVI Government will invest US$2,5mln into the BVI Health Services Authority. The main purpose of the investment is to boost medical tourism in the territory. The Premier also said: “This essential investment is critical to ensuring that the BVIHSA is able to collect sufficient revenue to meet all of its obligations.”

By words of BVI Premier, when medical tourism starts generating sufficient revenue, the government will no longer inject millions into the BVIHSA through the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. The NHI receives a yearly allocation of US$42 million from the BVI’s annual budget. 

This year, the Ministry of Health was allocated total amount of US$60,552,125, which makes 10.2% of this year’s US$426 million budget.