By Benito Wheatley
It should not be taken for granted that the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is today financially self-sufficient or that the Government’s finances are managed by a Minister of Finance appointed from among the elected representatives of the legislature (i.e. House of Assembly). This was not always the case.
At the introduction of ministerial government in 1967, finance was not a portfolio devolved to the elected Government.
It remained under the United Kingdom (UK) appointed Governor who also oversaw Britain’s financial assistance to the territory referred to as grant-in-aid. By 1971, the BVI was in a deep recession and the Government remained dependent upon Britain to fund its large budget deficit.
However, through prudence and determination, the coalition Governments led by the late Chief Minister Dr. Hon. Willard Wheatley, MBE, LLB between 1971-75 (i.e. Wheatley/Virgin Islands Democratic Party/United Party) and 1975-79 (i.e. Wheatley/Virgin Islands Party), steered the territory out of recession and into a robust economic recovery from 1974 onward. The exceptional public management of this period encouraged Britain to follow through on turning over responsibility for the finance portfolio from the Governor to the elected Government under the stewardship of the Chief Minister.
On 1st June 1977, Dr. Wheatley became the BVI’s first Minister of Finance. By 1978, the Government independently closed the budget deficit and ended the year with a budget surplus of $1.3 million.
This eliminated the need for further financial assistance from Britain and officially brought an end to grant-in-aid in the territory more than two decades after the BVI became a British colony in its own right.
At the end of the subsequent budget year (1979) the surplus grew to $2.7 million on the continued growth of revenue from tourism and a rebound in construction. The territory has since remained financially self-sufficient as successive Governments have generally ran budget surpluses or balanced budgets.
Financial autonomy was the next critical step in the BVI’s march toward greater self-determination, which was preceded by the introduction of ministerial government in 1967 and the restoration of the legislature (i.e. Legislative Council) in 1950.
The new finance portfolio endowed the elected Government with the fiscal and regulatory authority that positioned the BVI to later reinvent the financial services industry after the termination of the BVI-US double taxation treaty in 1981.
The Chief Minister, Dr. Wheatley, and his various ministers (i.e. Oliver Cills, Conrad Maduro/Dr. Q. William Osborne, OBE, Alban U. Anthony and H. Lavity Stoutt) deserve much credit for their steadfast leadership that ensured the territory became financially self-sufficient and gained its financial autonomy.
This of course could not have been achieved without the dedication of the numerous public servants worked tirelessly in the national interest.
The 40th anniversary of the end of grant-in-aid is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of the BVI’s financial independence which remains a key pillar of the self-determination of the territory.
(Benito Wheatley is a Policy Fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge and the former BVI Representative to the UK & EU)
