Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 28, 2016 (SKNIS): Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable Timothy, said that the economic growth of St. Kitts and Nevis has provided the necessary resource for the Government to finance activities and assist in payment towards the Public Debt.
The Finance Minister was at the time speaking at the 2016 National Consultation on the Economy on Wednesday, September 28, at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, which focused on the theme: “Working Together – Accelerating Growth and Building Resilience”.
“Over the last eighteen months, the Team Unity Administration has paid down some $200 million on the Public Debt inherited, which amounted to over $1.7 billion, excluding of course the high arrears and indebtedness to the Government of Venezuela with respect to our energy product, and that is well over another 100 plus million dollars,” said Prime Minister Harris. “The economy of St. Kitts and Nevis is doing well, relative to every other economy in the world. In other words, when you look at our growth rate we are not just doing well.
“In the context of the Member States of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, we are doing well with respect to all Member States of CARICOM and we are doing well when we enlarge the analysis to include Latin American and the Caribbean. And so, when you look at the report of the [United Nations] Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and when you go to the report of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), you see where St. Kitts and Nevis stands – way ahead of all others with respect to its performance,” the Finance Minister added.
Prime Minister Harris noted that the Government revenues also reflect that level of healthy economic activity, as well as the recent reports on the fiscal performance, which again reflect that the country is clearly on a growth path.
He explained that the Preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance indicate that the fiscal operations of the Federal Government for the first 8 months (January to August) have resulted in a Recurrent Account Surplus of $107.5 million, an Overall Surplus of $116 million and a Primary Surplus of $133 million.
Prime Minister Harris described the statistics given as critically important and said that a country should always be able to secure surpluses.
“Surpluses need to be harnessed if we are going to be able to be a resilient country. Services need to be harnessed so that we could respond to some of the challenges, contingencies and foreseen events which are part and parcel of life,” said the Finance Minister, while adding that the fiscal affairs of St. Kitts and Nevis are being properly managed by the Government. “And as a result, we have fairly reasonable buffers. The Premier [Honourable Vance Amory] spoke to reserves to meet short term contingencies and to mitigate short term shocks,” he said.
Prime Minister Harris extended thanks to Hillary Hazel, Financial Secretary, and the staff at the Ministry of Finance, as well as all the accounting officers throughout the Government for a job well done in a highly challenging global environment.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
