Education Gets Largest Share as Government Outlines 2026 Budget Allocations
Education, health, and public safety will receive the largest portions of Antigua and Barbuda’s 2026 recurrent expenditure, Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced Thursday as he presented the national budget in Parliament.
According to the Budget 2026 Presentation, the government has allocated $220.1 million to the Ministry of Education, Sports and Creative Industries — the single largest share of recurrent spending. Browne said the investment reflects the administration’s commitment to expanding access to education, including tuition-free studies at the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus once upgrades are completed.
The Prime Minister’s Ministry and Ministry of Finance & Corporate Governance will receive $196.9 million, the second-largest allocation. A further $147.5 million is earmarked for the Ministry of Health, Wellness, the Environment and Civil Service Affairs, supporting promised upgrades to healthcare delivery and staffing.
Other major allocations include:
- Ministry of Works and Housing: $121.7 million
- Attorney General’s Office & Ministry of Legal Affairs, Public Safety, Immigration and Labour: $124.6 million
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Barbuda Affairs: $35.5 million
- Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transportation and Investment: $39.1 million
- Ministry of Information, Communications Technologies, Utilities and Energy: $15.9 million
- Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Fisheries and the Blue Economy: $29.5 million
- Ministry of Social Transformation and Urban Renewal: $31.9 million
Browne said allocations for offices such as the Legislature, the Judiciary, Audit, Cabinet, the Office of the Governor-General and others are detailed in the appendices.
The Prime Minister framed the allocations within broader expenditure trends for 2026, which include $1.21 billion in recurrent spending and $236.4 million in capital expenditure, with significant funding directed toward roadworks and public building refurbishments.
Wages and salaries remain the largest component of recurrent expenditure at $504.5 million, followed by $336.4 million in pensions and transfers, $231.2 million for goods and services, and $138.4 million in interest payments.
Browne said the allocations reflect a government focused on stability, sustained growth and “ensuring that the benefits of our progress are shared by every Antiguan and Barbudan,” noting that the country is projected to maintain both a primary and an overall surplus for the third consecutive year.
Budget debate resumes next week.
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At least agriculture didn’t come in dead last
Performative politics, we will hear school problem and teachers strike. Sweet words of perfection.
$504 million to wages in expenditure.
Let that sink in folks..not to mention the millions spend on GB and his entourages travels and expenses, where he dances abroad way more than he dance a yard.
While they should be trying to shrink the government, namely by going after all the fraudsters that are just sucking the Treasury dry, instead they shuffle them around and continues to expand the government with more useless appointees.
These people don’t have a darn clue how to run a budget or even build a solid and efficient government, so they just spend and spend with no real aim, because, after all, buying of votes is a very expensive venture, one which is funded by the peoples tax money.
They just keep throwing out numbers year after year, and nothing has been done to really better the peoples lives.
The people needs to breath for Christ sake..
This administration is just a heavy heavy weight on the people..too much useless and unexplained or necessary spending.
For all the monies that has been raked in over the months of 2024, please tell me one thing that you can see that has significantly changed in a positive way for the born Antiguan’s that votes each year in their own election, tell me?
I’ll wait!
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