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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 30, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Figures recently released by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) have shown that both the Federal Government and the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) are currently in strong fiscal standings.
The ECCB, in its June 2018 Economic and Financial Review for St. Kitts and Nevis, reported that the fiscal operations of the Federal Government resulted in an overall surplus (after grants) of $110.7 million in the first six months of 2018, compared with a smaller surplus of $19.0m in the corresponding period of 2017.
“A primary surplus (after grants) of $131.9m was recorded compared with one of $41.0m in 2017. The widening of the overall fiscal surplus reflected an increase in the current account balance coupled with a decrease in capital expenditure,” the ECCB report stated.
The June 2018 review also revealed that the fiscal operations of the Nevis Island Administration “resulted in an overall surplus of $10.5m in the first six months of 2018, reversing a deficit of $6.4m recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
This positive change in the fiscal operations of the Federal Government, under the leadership of a Team Unity administration, was highlighted on Sunday, October 28, 2018 during a forum hosted by the Prime Minister.
The Honourable Ian Patches Liburd, while addressing the hundreds of persons in attendance, said, “Our economy continues to grow, budget surplus after budget surplus. We have now attained the international benchmark [of 60 percent of GDP] when it comes to our debt”
Minister Liburd further noted that under the guidance of Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, the Team Unity administration – in less than two years into its first five-year term – paid off the EC$117.1 million debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
