St. Kitts and Nevis on target to meet fiscal balances for 2007
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| St. Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas (photo by Erasmus Williams) |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 15TH 2007 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ fiscal balances continue to perform creditably and was 3.4 percent of GDP at the end 2006, while it is anticipated that the balance at the end of 2007 will meet the target of 2.5 percent.
Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas told 300 participants to the annual national Consultation on the Economy that the foundation for this performance is a marked improvement in revenue collection as a result of administrative reforms in both the Customs and Inland Revenue Departments of the Ministry of Finance.
“Expenditure restraint has also contributed to the improved fiscal performance. Wages and Salaries as a percentage of GDP has been declining since 2002 and it is projected that this will stand at 9.4 percent of GDP at the end of 2007, moving from 11.9 percent of GDP in 2002, a drop of more than two percentage points,” said Dr. Douglas, who is also Minister of Finance.
He said his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Government continues its efforts in prioritising Capital projects with the aim of focusing on those which will bring financial and economic returns.
~~Adz:Right~~ “The result has been a drop in the overall balance to -5.0 percent of GDP,” disclosed Prime Minister Douglas, who quickly pointed out that this marked improvement in no way signals that one can afford to relax now.
“The fiscal situation remains challenging, particularly in light of the high cost of fuel, high debt and the associated interest costs including the cost of servicing the debt of the SSMC and the critical environmental and social activities of the SSMC that the Government must now undertake,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who gave the assurance that St. Kitts and Nevis is on track and the fiscal stabilisation programme and that the government is still steadfastly implementing its programme to bring debt to acceptable levels over the medium term.”
Dr. Douglas said that expenditure restraint remains a focused challenge as his administration tackles the fiscal situation.
