Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says his government will allocate the largest chunk of the 2025 capital budget to economic affairs.
“We have the biggest item on the capital side for this year is $246.5 million for economic affairs. That’s 38% of the capital budget,” he said on Wednesday on his weekly show on NBC Radio.
“Because you have to drive the economy,” Gonsalves said.
He was speaking one day before Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves was slated to present the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2025 to Parliament for approval.
The finance minister is slated to present the 2025 budget on Monday.
The prime minister said EC$78.4 million or 11.3% of the capital budget will be allocated to housing, adding that the amount is not enough and the government will be looking for more money to supplement it.
Health will receive EC$97.2 million or 14% of the capital budget, with a large part of it being because of the ongoing construction of the new hospital at Arnos Vale.
“… but we have a number of clinics and so on doing,” the prime minister said.
The government is allocating EC$76.8 million –11% of the capital budget – to environmental protection, including river and sea defences.
Education will receive EC$57 million – just over 8% of the capital budget — with recreation and culture receiving EC$31 million, or nearly 5% of the capital budget.
Gonsalves said public order will be allocated EC$16. 4 million but the overall budget for public order and safety is EC$106 million.
“You can see from here what our priorities are as we’re going forward,” Gonsalves said.
He said social protection will receive EC$56 million or 8.1% but both recurrent and capital for social protection is EC$191 million.
“So expanding the economy, going to grow it, putting monies there, while at the same time taking care of social needs, dealing with health and education and housing and public order and public safety.”
In January 2024, Parliament approved an EC$1.62 billion budget for 2024, an 11.8% increase over the approved budget for 2023.
It was made up of recurrent expenditure, inclusive of amortisation and sinking fund contributions, of EC$1. billion and capital expenditure of EC$570.5 million