Several new projects to be implemented

Projects valued at a total of over EC$15 million will get started here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines shortly.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr Ralph Gonsalves announced in Parliament on Thursday, August 13th, that he had signed off on the 21 projects and had given instructions to the Ministry of Finance to proceed with their implementation.{{more}}

The wide ranging projects are being funded mainly through a budgetary support grant of EC$12.9 million from the European Union.

Budget Director in the Ministry of Finance Edmond Jackson told Searchlight that St. Vincent and the Grenadines qualified for budgetary support because government has made several “positive policy reforms”, including tax reforms, budget reforms and legislative reforms governing public finance.

Elaborating, Jackson said the tax reforms include the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT), reforms to income tax and the ongoing property tax project, while the legislative reforms include the Finance Administration Act (2004), the Finance Regulations, Procurement and Contract Administration Bill and Regulations (in progress) and the Government Assets Regulations (in progress).

“A country qualifies for budget support when the funding agency feels they can rely on local systems to ensure that the funds will be well spent and properly accounted for and that desired outcomes will be achieved,” Jackson added.

The Ministry of Rural Transformation is the largest beneficiary of the programme, and will receive EC$3.55 million for the implementation of three projects. The largest of these, the Georgetown rural development facility, is estimated to cost EC$3 million. $400,000 has been allocated for the development of rural community markets, with $150,000 being put aside for rural electrification.

Addressing the matter of rural electrification, the Prime Minister said it pains him that there is even one child in this country who has to read his school books “by lamp or candle or worse… under a street light.”

“I know we have done very well, with ninety something per cent of the homes having electricity, but there are some homes which don’t have, and they are poor people,” Gonsalves, who is also Parliamentary Representative for the North Central Windward Constituency, said.

“If we are having an education revolution and we are starting out on an equal footing, I don’t want some children going to school who are studying by electric bulb and some others, spoiling their eyes, jamming up under a lantern or lamp or candle,” he stated.

The Prime Minister stated that the provision of electricity was “absolutely essential” and if more money was needed for this project he would provide it. “I don’t want one young child to be so disadvantaged.”

In further support for the Education Revolution, the book loan scheme in the Ministry of Education will receive an injection of $1.5 million, while $750,000 has been allocated for upgrading school premises.

The Ministry of Finance will receive $600,000 for the modernization of the Customs and $1.2 million for the property tax reform project, while the Ministry of National Mobilization will have its “Legislative Reform for Children and Families” project funded to the tune of $60,000.

The Georgetown Police Station and the Canouan Administrative Building projects will each receive EC$1 million under the Ministry of National Security.

The Ministry of Agriculture will receive funding for five projects. The Animal Production Development Project will receive $500,000, with $120,000 going to the Forestry Protection and Sustainable Livelihoods Project. The Landbank and Germoplasm projects have been allocated $750,000 and $100,000, respectively. $300,000 will provide further support for the Lauders Agro Processors.

The Ministry of Health and the Environment will receive a total of $850,000, with $550,000 being allocated for the improvement of primary health care and $300,000 to be used to purchase generators for health facilities.

EC$1.1 million will be spent on river defences, $500,000 on the upgrading of roads and $270,000 on the Cumberland Sporting Facility under the Ministry of Transport and Works, while the Ministry of Housing will receive $1 million for the Kingstown Bus Terminal redevelopment programme.

The Ministry of Culture’s Garifuna programmes have been allocated $125,000.

This EC$12.9 million is the first of two tranches of budgetary support expected from the EU.