Premier Andrew Fahie said the UK government will be pulling its contributions by the end of the first quarter of 2021 because they don’t agree with his government’s revised version of the previous NDP administration’s Recovery & Development Plan.

Among other things, the revised plan makes more contracts available to locals and allows for the BVI to renegotiate the terms and conditions of loans offered by lending institutions such as the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

But Premier Fahie said the UK has signalled that the revised plan is not what they initially agreed to.

“During the budget [preparations], we learned that they not only disagreed with the revised Recovery & Development Plan, but they’re pulling out their funding from the RDA come March or April,” Premier Fahie explained.

“The reason they are pulling out their funding is that the Recovery & Development Plan was done from them (the UK) to the RDA. But the revised Recovery & Development Plan was not what they agreed to initially, so the funding from the RDA, they’re pulling out … How can you claim freedom from BREXIT but we can’t claim freedom from certain documents with you?” Premier Fahie questioned.

“External grants and philanthropic funders” account for $2.8 million.

Last October, the UK government handed over some $250,000 to assist the BVI in rebuilding two important public buildings in the BVI.

Of the total amount, $187,000 was allocated to assist with constructing a new Magistrate’s Court while $70,000 was earmarked for rebuilding Road Town Police Station.

At that time, Governor Jaspert said after the 2017 hurricanes, the BVI received two UK government grants of $17 million and $14 million.

He also said some public buildings including the Virgin Gorda Police Barracks, the Jost Van Dyke Admin Complex and the temporary courts, were built with funds from the UK.