St Kitts and Nevis PM Terrance Drew to present Budget 2025 on December 16

St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew will on Monday, December 16, at 10 am local time deliver the opening statement of the Federal Budget Debate for the 2025 fiscal year during a sitting in the National Assembly in Basseterre. The Order Paper for the sitting has been issued.

The debate session, which will continue till December 16, will see the presentation of the Annual Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals for the next fiscal. 

Prime Minister Drew, who is also his country’s finance minister, will request permission to bring in the Appropriation (2025) Bill, 2024, read for the first time. The Labour leader will then proceed with the second reading of the Bill, also known as the Budget Address.

Drew’s remarks will see a rebuttal from the Leader of Opposition Mark Brantley on Tuesday, December 17. Other members of the Parliament will get the opportunity to review the proposals thereafter. 

The budget proposals for 2025 outline the Drew government’s fiscal goals and priorities for 2025. The previous budget, which was presented in the House in December last year, was worth around EC$1.1 billion (US$407 million).  

In St Kitts and Nevis, a financial year runs from January 1 to December 31.

St Kitts and Nevis looking for a transformative budget, says PM Drew

Last month, Prime Minister Drew said his government was gearing up to present to the country a transformative budget for the next fiscal and it will result in true diversification and resilience of the country’s economy. He also said that the government had received meaningful inputs and recommendations from various key stakeholders that went into the preparation of the financial document.

The National Budget Forum held in October gave a platform to members of the public, private sector and civil society to express their viewpoints and suggestions towards shaping the new budget. 

“They provided some excellent ideas … and I welcome that. We heard from the Governor of the Central Bank, we heard from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and that has helped tremendously in putting the 2025 Budget together,” the PM remarked at a Roundtable edition in November.

He also said the government, through the 2025 Budget, was eyeing to erect an economy that capitalizes on both traditional strength and innovative ideas. Drew added that it would also embark on a mission to reduce St Kitts and Nevis’s high reliance on a particular sector, which was the case under the previous administration.

Drew opined that the budget was aiming for a transformation more than just a policy change. 

“It is a declaration of our commitment to long-term stability and resilience by channeling investments in areas like renewable energy, agriculture, and tourism. We are laying a foundation for an economy that benefits every citizen, not just today, but for generations to come,” he said. 

Last year, following a presentation by the PM and rebuttal by the Leader and Opposition and a debate by parliamentarians spanning five days, The Appropriation (2024) Bill, 2023, was passed into law with total estimates of around EC$1.1 billion for recurrent and capital expenditure and net landing. Drew said then that the world was taking St Kitts and Nevis seriously because the budget had been “put together well”.

The upcoming Budget Address and subsequent debate in the Parliament will be available on television and radio channels. It will also be streamed online and on social media pages of St Kitts and Nevis Information Service. People were encouraged to follow the proceedings that will give details about the government’s financial policies and strategic initiatives to propel sustainable growth and development for the nation.