This year 2024, the government will be moving to create more permanent jobs in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

This was outlined by Finance Minister, Camillo Gonsalves on Monday, January, 8, as he presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill (Budget 2024) in the temporary Parliament building at Glen.

THE GUARD OF HONOUR marching to the Parliament in the temporary compound at Calliaqua. (photo by Robertson S. Henry)

He said this year’s budget allocates “a record amount of money, to a record number of projects.”

“The Budget being presented today is one of a country on the right track,” Minister Gonsalves declared.

Monday’s presentation was preceded by the presentation of the Throne Speech by Governor General, Dame Susan Dougan, who also declared open the 4th session of the 11th Parliament.

This historic Budget address was the first to take place at the new, temporary Parliament building at Calliaqua.

“This is the Budget of a country with a growing economy and an existing record of tangible gains to benefit our people, and a growing confidence in our collective capacity to implement our forward looking and transformative agenda.”

Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Economic Planning, said Budget 2024 was crafted against a backdrop of “international volatility, high inflation, a global economic slow down and a deeply scarred region that is still regaining it’s footing in the wake of the Covid pandemic.”

The Minister said the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is projecting a mere 2.9 global growth in 2024, which is below the figures for the past two years.

According to the Minister, the United Nations has stated that we are entering a state of poly-crisis as a result of global challenges.

He however pointed out that Within the OECS and CARICOM, most countries were not as fortunate as St Vincent and the Grenadines in surpassing pre-Covid levels of production.

Minister Gonsalves said The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean(ECLAC), projects that the economies of the Caribbean, excluding Guyana, will grow by 2.6% this year.

However, Minister Gonsalves said this year, the economy of St Vincent and the Grenadines is expected to out perform both CARICOM and ECLAC projections.

“Both organizations expect St Vincent and the Grenadines to experience growth between 5 and 5 and a half per cent this year.”

Having rebounded from the Covid pandemic, Minister Gonsalves said the growth in SVG’s economy last year and projected growth this year, is “real, significant and helping to drive the developmental transformation that is taking place in our country.”

The Minister sees the present growth as part of the plan of the Ralph Gonsalves administration to create a modern, competitive post colonial economy that is local, global and regional.

“We have a plan, we are sticking to our plan, and our plan is working for the benefit of all Vincentians .

According to the Finance Minister, the IMF feels that the local economy is on track to surpass where they thought we would have been.”

He said the government is optimistic “that we will meet and possibly exceed projections for our economy this year”.

While admitting that there will always be events that they cannot control, Minister Gonsalves said “Budget 2024 is about building resilience and building buffers to withstand those unpredictable shocks, and sticking to the plan of completing our modern competitive, post colonial economy.”

The finance minister has promised that government will not abandon the agricultural sector.

He said agriculture and the farmers and fishers of SVG are at the heart of national development.

Describing agriculture as a wealth creator, and a buffer against shocks, minister Gonsalves outlined some of government’s planned investments in agriculture and fisheries in 2024.

The 2024 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure were passed in Parliament on December 19, 2023.

The $1.6 billion Estimates is made up of $1.45 billion in recurrent expenditure, and capital expenditure of $570,512,611.

This represents an 11.8% increase over the approved Budget for 2023. Opposition leader, Godwin Friday, is expected to kick start debate on the budget this morning.