‘As soon as the money comes in, it goes right back out’- Premier Wheatley
“Most persons in the world, small island developing states, are lucky if they have one global revenue earner, to sell a global product that everybody around the world buys…. We’re blessed to have two. This makes the BVI an incredibly attractive place to live and to work, but those two revenue earners, as soon as the money comes in, generally, the money goes right back out, nearly as quickly as it comes in. Why is that? [It's] because we import most of everything that we consume.”
Premier Wheatley was the guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Central Tortola’s Community Economic Development Month in the Rotary calendar at the Moorings Conference Room on Thursday, October 9, 2025.
The Premier presented on building a resilient economy and how strong communities drive sustainable growth, with guests having the opportunity to ask him direct questions.
‘We have to be able to see the opportunities’
According to the Premier, opportunities abound for Virgin Islands’ businesses, but they have to be able to look for them.
“So when you look at our economy, the money doesn’t stay here very long. And relating it to the topic for today: ‘strong communities, empowering local businesses, creating sustainable jobs, and investing in people is the key to a brighter future’, when you look at the situation we face, you have to be able to see the opportunities. And that’s what we have to teach our people, government, clubs like the Rotary Club, our school system, everybody, we have to teach people how to see the opportunities that exist.”
The Premier gave the example that some people complain about the volume of cruise passengers, while others see opportunities.
“Some people may say cruise passengers don’t spend money, others will see the opportunities, persons like Sef Graham. He saw the opportunities and he started, I think his business is called Hike BVI,” Dr Wheatley pointed out.
The Premier continued that the VI welcomed just over a million visitors last year, and this year the number is expected to increase.
“If you have a million visitors coming in, whether the cruise passengers, overnight guests, day trippers, what are the opportunities that you see to be able to sell goods and services to those people who are coming here?” Dr Wheatley asked.
He said the VI has about 35,000 people, which is a very small population, and this makes the market very small, which is why persons need to capitalise on the market opportunities presented by the influx of visitors.
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29 Responses to “‘As soon as the money comes in, it goes right back out’- Premier Wheatley”
In my firm and honest opinion I believe that all wise political leader of of all contries if this world will do their earth-most best to invest as much as possible the money that comes in for the betterment of the people of their country, the B.V.I included. Is this the reality that's happening.under the current VIP government leadership? Noooooooope (No).
Moreover, with limited resources/revenue, the VI must do a better prioritizing and maximizing budget efficiency to deliver the best/most services to the most people. Furthermore, low productivity, inefficiencies, etc, are a drag on resources. As such, a robust effort must be exerted to raise productivity, eradicate/minimize inefficiencies, avoid duplications, arrest corruption,,etc. The VI must have a strong, robust internal management control program.
Government ensure that money made in the BVI stays in the BVI to develop the country. BVI are in a difficult condition and heading down a slippery slope.
The BVI likely has a trade deficit, but that's something that has to be acknowledged as a likely reality given that the Territory has no natural resources that will enable it to manufacture very much - absent importing the necessary raw materials. That's the real issue, the need to import raw materials and then have the electric power to run a manufacturing facility; the next issue is whether the Territory wants to make more t-shirts and trinkets as a sector that can employ people. What the Territory does 'export' in a sense is promoting tourism, and that's a good thing; however, to wax eloquent on things that make no sense is just more of Wheatley demonstrating that he's a financial illiterate.
Government can enhance the budget process( maximizing budget efficiency), explore means/sources of increasing revenue, work on diversifying the economy, improve revenue collection, improve productivity, more effective and efficient planning of work, improving the contract management process, avoid duplication in providing services, leveraging technology, etc.
Finally, two things. 1. You can do anything you want, but you cannot everything at once, ie, in the same fiscal year. And 2. The trick in the process is cutting the budget without cutting services. That requires work.