Health, education to get largest allocations

Some $106 million has been earmarked for the Ministry of Health and the Environment in this year’s $1.2 billion national budget, representing the largest allocation.   
A close second is the Ministry of Education and Technology with $101 million as the Gaston Browne administration continues its budgetary focus on those two sectors.
“Additional capital funding will be made available through the CDB second Basic Education Project for the continued expansion of the Irene B. Williams Secondary School and the St. Mary’s Secondary School for which work should commence in the first quarter of 2018,” Prime Minister Browne said.
The Office of the Attorney General, Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, Public Safety and Labour is next at $90 million while the Ministry of Works and Housing is to receive $76 million to carry out its projects and programmes.
The Ministry of Tourism is allocated $28 million while $20 million has been earmarked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs.
Budgetary allocations for the other ministries are as follows:  Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Information Technology, $17 million; Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development, $24 million; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Immigration, $27 million; Ministry of Public Utilities, Civil Aviation and Transportation, $8 million; Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Industry, Sports, Culture and National Festivals and Community Service, $30 million.
The budget also includes allocations for the Office of the Governor General, $2 million; the legislature $2 million; the Cabinet, $4 million; the judiciary, $2 million; the Service Commissions, $900,000; Audit,         $1million; pensions and gratuities, $77 million; the Electoral Commission, $4 million; and the Ombudsman, $600,000.
Browne also noted that the Office of the Prime Minister is allocated $31 million and the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance, $102 million.