“We’re seeing businesses starting to catch themselves and persons are ‘asking what stimulus package are you going to give?’ [My answer is] a strong economy, a buoyant economy, a thriving economy so that you don’t have to ask the government for anything anymore you can become corporate citizens and be able to give,” Premier Fahie said at the reopening ceremony of the Road Town Jetty on April 14.

However, Premier Andrew Fahie did not explicitly state whether his government is considering another stimulus package at this time.

In May 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government rolled out a $62 million COVID stimulus plan — the majority of which was funded using a $40 million grant from the Social Security Board (SSB).

Of that amount, $6.5 million was used to assist businesses across the territory.

Since then, persons have been calling for another package as the extended border closure has further drained businesses of the few resources they had left.

Opposition Leader Marlon Penn in February called on the government to disperse a second round of economic stimulus to further support residents and businesses still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penn termed the proposed package “Stimulus 2.0” saying the Fahie administration should first look to its own “reserved funds, including budget reprioritisation to free up funding.”

Penn had also said the government should stay away from the SSB for any future stimulus package unless it will be borrowing a loan with fixed repayment dates.