Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, has warned Vincentians of hard times ahead, fueled by increased inflation and the government’s inability to give salary increase.
“Because of COVID-19, intentionally, globally there are increases in inflation….. increases in the cost of shipping things, increases in the cost of delivering things to St. Vincent. Inflation will increase, and until we can get some sense of normalcy in our economy, we, the government, are not going to be able to give cost of living increases.. . So you will find your salary paying for less than it paid for a year ago,” said Gonsalves on WE FM, Issue at Hand radio programme.
“So it is in your interest, from a salary perspective, to return to normalcy as soon as possible… so that the economy can return to growth…. as so that we can make the adjustment necessary in your salary, in everybody’s salary to allow you to have the same amount of money to buy things, because they are getting more expensive,” the Finance Minister noted.
He told listeners that St. Vincent and the Grenadines can only have “some sense of normalcy in our internal economy, in our trade relations, and in our tourism economy, if we get some sense of normalcy with a vaccine against COVID-19. And until we do that, we’re going to be in serious trouble.
Gonsalves said that the vaccine and the control of COVID have a very direct relationship with salaries, the ability of the government to hire new people, and with the ability of the private sector to retain the staff that they have now.
Government Revenue/Expenditure
And while he made clear the challenges ahead, Minister Gonsalves noted with some relief that Revenue and Grants as of Aug. 31 stood at $474 million, about $72 million higher than last year.
A significant portion of the $474 million was attributed to grants related to the La Soufriere, he admitted.”Another big boost was the Alien Land Holding Licence and Stamp Duty, mostly generated from the sale of property in Mustique, ”
Gonsalves disclosed that around this period last year the Alien Land Holding Licence column reflected EC$4 million compared to $23 million in 2021.
Further, last year, the government collected about EC$12 million from Stamp Duty, compared to EC$39 million in the corresponding period this year.
As for capital expenditure, Gonsalves said that two years ago that reached EC$35 million; it stands at EC$105 million so far this year.
“So we’re spending a whole lot more money than we would ordinarily spend at this time of the year….. and that’s just what the accountants have already brought to book. I suspect the number is closer to $150, $160 million already spent this year……… So while our revenue has gone up slightly, a lot of it is due to, as I said, aid and grants that we received from the volcano and the UN,” Gonsalves noted.
Source :The Vincentian