<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is scheduled to host his first press conference for 2019 on Monday 6th January at 10 a.m at Cabinet Room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The press conference\nbetween the passage of a number of bills in parliament close to the end of last\nyear which are of critical importance to this country and especially to foreign\nbusiness, and between the presentation of the budgetary exercise later this\nmonth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is anticipated that\nVincentians will hear of the country’s latest fiscal position, the 2018 year\nhaving ended and projections for 2019, among other matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IMF’s Staff Concluding Statement of the Article IV Mission on November 21, 2018, said that this country’s growth outlook was positive and The continued growth is\nexpected to be driven by increases in tourist arrivals, tourism-related\nactivities (including investment in hotels and resorts), and related local\nproduction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Staff Concluding Statement projects that beyond 2020, growth will be sustained at around 2.3 percent, assuming steady tourism and investment growth. It says, however, that this outlook is subject to both external risks which include weaker-than-expected global growth, tighter global financial conditions, and higher oil prices; and domestic risks which include more severe and frequent natural disasters and the loss of correspondent banking relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “There is also\nupside potential stemming from stronger-than-expected tourist arrivals,\ninvestor interest, concessional financing for capital projects, and the\nsuccessful completion of the geothermal power plant,” the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government has\ncommitted to bringing the debt-to-GDP ratio down to 60 percent by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The IMF Staff\nConcluding Statement said the 2019 budget should demonstrate the government\u2019s\ncommitment to fiscal consolidation, by maintaining the primary surplus at\naround 0.7 percent of GDP, slightly above the 0.6 percent of GDP (the mission\u2019s\nestimate) in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The mission\nrecommends incorporating expected fiscal costs of natural disasters, equivalent\nto 1.4 percent of GDP a year (the average of the past 15 years), in the budget\nframework. This could be partly covered by the contingency fund and insurance\npayouts (in total, 0.7 percent of GDP), with the balance covered through\nallocating expenditure reserves for emergency operations…. Consideration\nshould be given to expanding the coverage of disaster insurance, especially\nagainst floods to achieve additional buffers,” the IMF Staff Concluding\nStatement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The IMF Staff\nConcluding Statement said further that “fiscal risks remain, however, and\n“if growth momentum falters or natural disasters intensify, the 60 percent\ntarget would not likely be achievable by 2030.” It noted that the\ngovernment also plans to launch several large developmental projects in the\ntourism and transport sectors to enhance growth, but this could widen the\ndeficit if they are not accompanied by new fiscal consolidation measures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is scheduled to host his first press conference for 2019 on Monday 6th January at 10 a.m at Cabinet Room. The press conference between the passage of a number of bills in parliament close to the end of last year which are of critical importance to this country and especially<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,1,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","category-mainstory","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n