Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has announced that the barrel concession which was due to come to an end on August 31, 2020 will be extended.
Speaking on NBC radio St. Vincent and the Grenadines during his weekly national update, he said:
“Look, I got a call from someone at the port, a supervisor and she was telling me about a month ago, the barrel concession is really helping people”.
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“There were hundreds and hundred of barrels we are clearing, she says its just amazing”, the Prime Minister reported to the nation.
He went on further to say:
“We are losing some revenue but Covid has created a lot of problems for us and as far as possible we have to try ease the pressure, ease the pain”.
The Prime Minister also told his audience that in spite of the prevailing economic situation, his government has never missed a month paying civil servants their salaries. He boasted that compared to other countries, pensioners have also been paid on time.
“I have to collet over $1 million dollars per day” at the port and income tax to pay civil servants and pensioners. He said the wages and salary bill amounts to $30 million monthly.
