KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC—The St. Vincent and the Grenadines government said Monday it will implement the EC$1.85 billion (One EC dollar = 0.37 cents) budget for 2025 “without raising taxes or fees.”
Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves, delivering the budget statement to Parliament, recounted the pledges from the 2024 fiscal package that the government met despite the impact of Hurricane Beryl on July 1.
“We are already recovering. We are already rising again, and we are energetically building a stronger, more resilient, more inclusive, more sustainable St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he told legislators, adding, “2024 was an extraordinary portrait of a government hard at work to accelerate our developmental transformation.
“Viewed through the prism of our hard mid-year pivot and reprioritization to address the urgent needs of the 19,000 persons directly impacted by Hurricane Beryl, the government’s exceptional efforts have been both tireless and compassionate.”
Gonsalves said that perfection is neither a goal nor a realistic yardstick in any endeavor, particularly for a small island government grappling with competing developmental priorities and the impacts of a natural disaster.
“But this government has worked hard, has worked smart, and has worked well in the people’s interests.”
The Finance Minister said the past informs the present, and the government record of 2024 accomplishments amidst trying circumstances “should assure Vincentians that our ambitions for 2025 are achievable”.
He said the 2025 budget sets the bar of expectation higher than ever before.
“In 2025, we will increase civil servant salaries by 2.5 percent,” he said, referring to the final tranche of the seven percent salary increase over three years that labor unions negotiated.
Gonsalves said his government will also complete the EC$668 million modern Kingstown cargo port.
“We will construct no fewer than 1,000 homes for Beryl- and Soufriere-affected persons, distribute EC$30 million in social assistance and income support to farmers, fishers, small businesses, and vulnerable Vincentians impacted by Hurricane Beryl.”
He said the government would complete the Barrouallie Black Fish Processing Centre and significantly advance construction on the modern arrowroot factory.
“We will build more than 70 stretches of road with a 2025 budgetary allocation of over EC$125 million,” Gonsalves told Parliament, adding that the government will also advance construction of the Arnos Vale Acute Care Hospital.
He said the government would also start semi-professional netball and football leagues and launch a fast fund to support Olympic athletes’ quest for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“We will launch a national orchestra. We will launch GYVE, a youth volunteerism initiative to support community-based engagement,” Gonsalves said, adding that this year, the government will also launch a dedicated program to provide free transportation services to people with disabilities.
“We’ll commence construction of a vendor’s market in Georgetown and expand the shops at Glen. We’ll pilot a mathematics support program to provide additional instructional time in math for primary and secondary school students.”
The Finance Minister said the government will begin construction of the Marriott Resort at Mt Wynne, as well as the Sandy Bay, Brighton, and Thomas Saunder secondary schools, the Kingston Anglican School, and Grimble Hall at the Girls High School campus at Richmond Hill.
“We’ll begin cultural, educational, wellness, and production hubs in Bellevue, Park Hill, Troumaca, and Petit Bordel,” he said, adding that this year, the government will also provide 2,600 laptops to community college and secondary school students.
“We will install lights and a warm-up track at the Sir Vincent Beach Stadium. We will begin construction of a modern Parliament building in Beachmont. We will begin or complete the construction of 11 clinics nationwide.”
Gonsalves said the government will conduct “targeted and sustained police operations against criminals and impose community policing in high-risk areas.
“We will welcome a record number of visitors to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and we will deliver another year of robust economic growth and greater employment opportunities.”
Gonsalves told Parliament that the government had presented three of the last five budget speeches, “only a few short months removed from disasters of enormous magnitude and daunting implications.
“But no matter the circumstances, each budget presentation has been informed by our confidence in the resilience of Vincentians, our courage to make difficult decisions in the interest of the people, and our conviction that whatever the future brings, our faith will see us through.”
He said Budget 2025 is “partly people-centred recovery and partly people-centred development.
“It prioritizes our disaster response, with EC$127 million of the capital budget targeted to recovery and reconstruction for the volcano- and hurricane-affected persons.
“At the same time, our long-term developmental priorities are addressed through visionary investments in major infrastructure projects and innovative social interventions,” Gonsalves said.
He listed the specific initiatives and projects from Budget 2025, which have been met, including an EC$35 million upgrade to sporting facilities and hosting World Cup cricket T-20 games.
“And we fulfill that pledge spectacularly,” he said, noting the country’s hosting of the CELAC summit in March 2024,” the largest gathering of world leaders, governments, and international organizations.”
The Finance Minister said among the other promises kept from budget 2024, the addition of over 400 rooms to the nation’s hotel room stock with the opening of Sandals Resort and the Holiday Inn Express and spoke of the additional American Airlines flights. Jetblue is commencing service to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“We promised to distribute EC$27 million worth of supplies and production supports to farmers and fishers nationwide, and we have done so comprehensively…
“And we pledged to create greater economic growth and further reduce unemployment in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Despite Hurricane Beryl, our nation enjoyed its fourth consecutive year of robust economic growth and increased employment.”
He said the category four cyclone upended some programs while forcing the government to make fresh and urgent commitments to the population over the past six months.
Parliament last weekend approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2025 amounting to EC$1.89 billion, a 14.4 percent increase over the approved budget for 2024.
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