NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (February 21, 2023) – The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) recorded an 18.82 percent increase in revenue for 2022 compared to 2021, an indicator that Nevis’ economy is on the rebound post Covid-19.
During the 2023 Budget Address delivered on February 20, 2023, Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis and NIA Minister of Finance, revealed that the overall total revenue collected for fiscal year 2022 amounted to $214.26 million. This represents an increase of $33.94 million compared to $180.32 million collected for 2021.
The Premier outlined the breakdown of the total revenue, explaining that “The total recurrent revenue generated during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 amounted to $136.52 million, which represents an increase of $10.25 million or 8.11 percent over the $126.27 million generated during the same period in 2021. The revenue collections forecast for the year 2022 was set at $131.37 million. Actual revenue collected for the year 2022 outpaced our forecast by $5.15 million or 3.92%. This revenue coupled with the amount of $77.74 million, representing a share of the revenue from the Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Program as well as other grant funds, resulted in an overall total revenue of $214.26 million in fiscal year 2022.”
Further indicators pointing to an improvement in economic activity on Nevis is the increase in gross monthly wages and increase in the number of jobs.
Gross monthly wages increased by some 11.9 percent from $17.55 million per month in 2021 to $19.63 million per month in 2022. Over that same period St. Kitts recorded an increase in gross monthly wages of 8.7 percent. For the period January to December 2022 the number of jobs in Nevis increased by 6.4 percent over 2021 with an average number of jobs per month of 5,819. Comparatively, jobs on St. Kitts over the same period grew by 4.9 percent.
“My Government’s efficient management of the Covid-19 crisis has sparked confidence in the economy which is now manifesting itself in a marked uptick in economic activity. Government’s finances are beginning to show gradual signs of improvement and activities in the private sector are returning to the levels experienced prior to the onset of the pandemic. Despite the significant progress made in restoring macroeconomic stability, we are fully aware that many of our citizens and small businesses continue to face hardship having been adversely affected over the past two years. We must therefore continue to work at growing our economy and creating jobs…
“We are under no illusion that the task at hand will be easy. There is much work to be done to advance the social and economic wellbeing of our island and its people. We are confident that our people have the capacity to excel once provided with the opportunity. Creating opportunities for our people will be the driving force for my Government’s performance during this fiscal year,” the Premier stated.
Premier Brantley tabled the Nevis Appropriation 2023 Bill in the Nevis Island Assembly on February 20, 2023. Budget Debates got underway on Tuesday, February 21, 2022.